Union Bank Plc has asked a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos to commit six senior managing staff of a leading fintech firm, Opay Digital Services Limited, to prison for allegedly disobeying the orders of the court.
The bank listed as contemnors in the committal proceedings: Opay Digital Services Limited’s Managing Director, Gotring Dauda Wutrika, and five of the company’s directors: Wang Dan, Wen Mingxuan, Duyao Huang Simon, Ozoemena Chijioke, and Abass Rashidat Motunrayo.
In the committal request made under Form 49, which is a Notice to Show Cause Why an Order of Committal Should Not Be Made, pursuant to Section 72 of the Sheriff and Civil Process Act 1990, via Order IX, Rule 13 of the Judgment Enforcement Procedure Rules, the bank is urging the court to issue an order committing the named contemnors to a correctional centre due to their wilful, deliberate, and coordinated disobedience of the Preservatory and Disclosure Order of the court.
The orders were issued by the court on March 26, 2025, alongside a Reversal Order in the Judgment delivered on April 15, 2025.
Union Bank is also seeking “an order of the court that the said contemnors lawfully and legitimately cited for contempt herein shall remain in a correctional centre and/or under the protective custody of any security agencies or at any designated correctional centres/reformatory facilities within Nigeria until they purge themselves of the contempt of this Honourable Court.”
The applicant outlined six grounds for the application: “That the Honourable Court, in Orders 1 through 5 of the Preservatory and Disclosure Orders issued on March 26, 2025, among other directives, required the Respondents—including Opay Digital Services Limited—to impose a Post No Debit restriction on the accounts of their customers identified as primary and secondary beneficiaries of the wrongful transfers from the applicant’s account. The Court also ordered them to submit an affidavit of compliance that discloses the recovered sums.
“That Opay Digital Services Limited was duly served with the said Preservative and Disclosure Orders of court made on the 26th of March, 2025, but has failed and/or refused to comply with the said orders.
“That this Honourable Court subsequently issued a Reversal Order of the recovered funds in its Judgment delivered on the 15th day of April 2025, directing the respondents (banks), including Opay Digital Services Limited, to immediately reverse to the applicant all recovered sums from the wrongful transfers into their customers’ accounts.
“That Opay Digital Services Limited was duly served with the Preservative and Disclosure Orders as well as the court’s judgment, thereby notifying it of its obligation to reverse the recovered funds, along with follow-up correspondence indicating the applicant’s intention to initiate contempt proceedings against it.
“That despite the above, Opay Digital Services Limited has failed and/or refused to disclose the relevant account details of the listed primary and secondary beneficiaries and has consequently not complied with the Preservative and Disclosure Orders of this Honourable Court made on the 26th March 2025, nor the Reversal Order of the 15th April 2025.
“That the persons cited for contempt are principal officers of Opay Digital Services Limited who, through their actions and/or inactions, have colluded to deprive the applicant of the funds wrongfully transferred into their customers’ accounts, thus deliberately flouting the orders of this honourable court made on the 26th March 2025 and the 15th April 2025.
The court is yet to fix a date for the hearing of the contempt proceedings.