GTBank Loses Appeal in High-Profile Case Over Abiola Family Mansion

Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) has lost its legal bid to repossess a valuable mansion in Ikoyi, Lagos, tied to a disputed loan agreement involving Alhaji Agboola Abiola, son of late Nigerian business magnate and politician, Chief M.K.O. Abiola.

The Lagos Division of the Court of Appeal nullified a 2013 judgment from the Federal High Court that had earlier granted GTBank rights to foreclose on the N30 billion property—reportedly a 44-room residence—over alleged loan defaults.

According to the court’s certified ruling, marked CA/L/888/2014 and obtained by *The PUNCH*, the appellate panel found irregularities in the mortgage documentation GTBank used as the legal basis for foreclosure. Justice Paul Aimee Bassi delivered the lead decision, with Justices Polycarp Kwahar and Abdulaziz Anka concurring.

The justices faulted the lower court for not adequately addressing serious allegations of document forgery and fraud brought forward by the appellants—RCN Networks Ltd and Agboola Abiola, represented by Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Dr. Charles Adeogun-Phillips.

One of the core issues was whether the mortgage deed used by GTBank was valid. The court found significant discrepancies, including inconsistencies in the pagination of the document. Notably, while the main pages were numbered “2 of 9” to “9 of 9,” the signature page was labeled “11 of 17,” suggesting it may have been taken from another document entirely.

Agboola Abiola contended that he never signed the disputed mortgage deed and that his signature was fraudulently extracted from a different agreement. He also accused GTBank of improperly merging two unrelated loans—N508 million and N1 billion—without the borrowers’ consent.

Although prior police investigations yielded mixed conclusions—with one recommending arbitration and another dismissing the forgery claim—the appellate court ruled that unresolved questions around the authenticity of key documents made the mortgage unenforceable.

“The lower court erred by ruling on a document whose authenticity was seriously in question,” Justice Bassi declared. “The appeal succeeds. The judgment of the lower court dated June 20, 2014, is hereby set aside. Each party shall bear their own costs.”

This ruling means GTBank no longer has legal grounds to take possession of the Ikoyi mansion, pending further legal developments.