Nigeria, Aug. 8 -- The High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in Abuja has ordered Zenith Bank and the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) to pay N85 million in damages for freezing a customer's account based on an invalid court order.

Judge Samirah Bature, who delivered the judgment on Thursday, held that the bank acted unlawfully by relying on an ex parte ruling from a magistrate's court without notifying the customer. He described the action as "illogical and a betrayal of the banker-customer relationship."

"The failure of the first defendant to inform the claimant of the state of affairs on her account amounts to negligence and a breach of the duty of care owed to the claimant," he ruled.

The court directed the bank to immediatel...