The Court of Appeal in Abuja has overturned the liability imposed on Fidelity Bank Plc by the Federal Capital Territory High Court in a fundamental rights case involving Michael Kundera.
A three-member panel led by Justice Adebukola Banjoko, in a judgment delivered on September 14, 2026, allowed Fidelity Bank’s appeal and held that there was no credible evidence linking the bank to Kundera’s arrest, detention or alleged violation of his fundamental rights.
The case arose from suit No. CV/6258/23 filed by Kundera over his arrest and detention between May 15 and 16, 2023. He alleged that he was detained without being charged before a court or granted administrative bail.
The respondents included the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, former EFCC Chairman Abdulrasheed Bawa, an EFCC officer identified as Calistus, and Fidelity Bank.
In April 2024, the FCT High Court, presided over by Justice Peter Kekemeke, had declared Kundera’s arrest and detention unlawful and a violation of his fundamental rights. The court ordered the respondents, jointly or severally, to pay him ₦10 million in damages and ₦2 million as costs.
The trial court also noted Kundera’s reported age of 75 at the time and held that continued invitations and threats against him over a matter it considered already decided exceeded the lawful bounds of the respondents.
Kundera, through his counsel, O. Orji, had linked the dispute to a parcel of land at the Foreign Affairs Quarters, which he claimed belonged to him. He also argued that the matter was pending before the Court of Appeal in suit No. CA/ABJ/CV/533/2021.
He had sought declarations that his arrest and detention violated rights guaranteed under Sections 35 and 36 of the 1999 Constitution, an order restraining further invitations or threats of arrest, and ₦500 million in exemplary or aggravated damages.
Fidelity Bank challenged the decision, arguing that there was no credible evidence connecting it to Kundera’s arrest, detention or any infringement of his constitutional rights.
The bank told the appellate court that its involvement was limited to a petition submitted to the EFCC concerning alleged criminal conduct by legal entities that had obtained a ₦100 million loan procurement order for a specific project but allegedly diverted the funds for personal use.
It maintained that Kundera was not the subject of the petition and that there was therefore no basis for holding the bank responsible for the alleged violation.
The Court of Appeal upheld the bank’s position, finding that the evidence before the trial court did not establish that Fidelity Bank infringed Kundera’s fundamental rights.
The appellate court also held that Kundera failed to discharge the burden of proof required to establish wrongdoing by the bank and justify the reliefs granted against it.
The decision consequently reversed the finding of liability against Fidelity Bank in the case.