Barbican Capital Limited, the largest shareholder of FBN Holdings, has filed a lawsuit against the bank to address a contentious reduction in its reported shareholding.
The dispute arose after FBN Holdings revised its December 2023 audited accounts to show Barbican’s shares at 3.1 billion, down from 4.8 billion previously reported.
Barbican Capital’s lawsuit, filed in response to these discrepancies, highlights conflicting records between FBN Holdings and the Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS), which confirms Barbican’s ownership of 5,386,397,202 shares (15.01%).
The lawsuit argues that FBN Holdings’ actions— including freezing dividend payments and adjusting shareholdings—are unjustified and seeks court intervention to uphold Barbican’s rights.
The legal battle underscores ongoing issues with share ownership verification and corporate governance at Nigeria’s oldest financial institution, further complicated by recent increases in Barbican’s shareholding following Honeywell’s consolidation of affiliated shares.