UBA Wins N156bn Debt Recovery Judgment Against Stallion Group, Vaswanis

The Federal High Court in Lagos has ruled in favour of United Bank for Africa (UBA) in the bank's long-running N156.03 billion debt recovery suit against Stallion Group and the Vaswani brothers who control it, upholding the bank's mortgage security, the appointment of its receiver/manager and the liability of guarantors.

Judgment was delivered on Friday by Justice Daniel Osiagor of Court 6, Ikoyi, granting, according to the bank's account of the ruling, all the reliefs it sought and resolving the issues presented for determination in its favour.

What the court decided

The court affirmed the appointment of Romeo Ese as receiver/manager over assets connected to the recovery proceedings and confirmed his entitlement to take possession of mortgaged property and seek protective orders. It also restrained the defendants from diverting receivables otherwise due to them from government agencies, a measure designed to protect the bank's recovery interest.

Central to the ruling was the finding that the defendants did not dispute the existence of indebtedness to UBA, challenging only the amount claimed, and that a reconciliation of accounts between the parties did not invalidate the underlying debt obligations. The court also dismissed objections raised by the twelfth defendant, Barbedos Ventures Limited, over proprietary rights in the mortgaged property, holding that its consent had not been required when the mortgage was created.

A dispute running since 2023

UBA filed the suit in October 2023, claiming N156.03 billion owed by Stallion Nigeria Limited and associated companies, including Von Automobile Nigeria, Stallion Motors and The Honda Place, with group chairman Sunil Vaswani among the defendants. Early orders of the court permitted the bank to take over assets in Lagos, Port Harcourt and Kano and to freeze accounts, and Stallion's attempts to lift those orders failed in December 2023.

The defendants have maintained positions contesting the claims, with Stallion Nigeria Limited arguing previously that it was the only entity in the group that had entered into a financing contract with the bank, and describing the debt claims as false when proceedings began. Neither Stallion nor the Vaswanis issued an immediate public response to Friday's ruling.

Why the ruling matters beyond the parties

The judgment reinforces a principle Nigerian lenders rely on heavily in corporate recoveries: that disputing the precise quantum of a debt does not, by itself, stop a creditor from enforcing properly constituted security. With several large legacy disputes still moving through the courts, including a related UBA action linked to Western Metal Products, the reasoning in this case will be read closely by banks and their obligors alike.

What is not yet clear

The full scope of the court's orders, the specific assets affected and any grounds for appeal can only be confirmed from the written judgment and the responses of the affected parties, none of which were immediately available. For UBA, which has cast the ruling as a milestone in its corporate debt drive, the practical test is now enforcement: converting courtroom rights into recovered cash.