Claims in lawsuits against Lagos State have risen more than tenfold in three years to N878.5 billion, according to the offer document for its N200 billion Series 5 bond seen by MoneyCentral.
The disclosure comes as the state adds to a debt pile of N3.09 trillion.
The Series 5 pricing supplement says Lagos and its agencies face 114 lawsuits. The state’s 2023 shelf prospectus put claims at about N82.6 billion across 93 cases.
Nine Cases Drive the Total
Nine high-value suits account for N767.1 billion, or 87% of all claims, on MoneyCentral calculations. The solicitors, Banwo & Ighodalo, DealHQ Partners and The New Practice, put that figure at 384% of the bond’s size.
They add that the claims are “unlikely to crystallize in full or materially impact the transaction.”
Their reasons: courts award general and exemplary damages at their discretion and rarely in full, most claimants have not documented their special damages, and the cases will probably outlast the bond’s repayment timeline.
Courts have already ruled against Lagos in two cases, awarding N1.27 billion. A notice of appeal has been filed in one, but the state has not yet sent the case record to the Court of Appeal.
The solicitors say they are not aware of an appeal in the other, and warn that failing to pursue appeals could lead to the judgments being enforced.
The total claims equal about 28% of Lagos’ debt and 1.6 times its N540.6 billion cash at the end of 2025, on MoneyCentral calculations.
Bonds outstanding had a face value of N661.1 billion. Series 5 would lift that to about N861 billion and bring use of the state’s N1 trillion borrowing programme to N579.6 billion.
Series 5 bondholders have their own repayment source. A sinking fund receives N3.40 billion a month at first, rising to N4.57 billion once principal repayments begin, from the state’s debt service account and from deductions taken directly from its federal allocations.
The solicitors say no pending case would stop Lagos meeting its obligations under the bonds. The issue is rated Aa by Agusto & Co. and AA by GCR.
The supplement does not name the nine high-value cases or say what they are about.
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