Garnishee proceedings are, on paper, simple: the court orders a third party holding the debtor’s money — usually a bank — to pay it to the judgment creditor instead. In practice, the difference between a garnishee that collects and one that stalls is almost entirely tactical, and the first tactical decision is the most important: which institution do you attach, and in what order?
Attach where the money actually is
A garnishee order nisi against an account that holds a token balance achieves nothing except warning the debtor. The work happens before the application: identifying the debtor’s principal banking relationships, the accounts through which trading income actually flows, and the institution least likely to have been emptied in anticipation.
An order against the wrong account does not just fail — it tips off the debtor to move everything else.
One bank, or several?
Attaching multiple institutions simultaneously spreads the net and denies the debtor a single point of failure to defend. But it carries cost and coordination risk, and an overbroad sweep can attract judicial resistance. The judgment call is proportionality: enough institutions to capture the realistic balance, not so many that the application looks like a fishing expedition.
The points banks exploit
Garnishee banks are repeat players and they know the procedural seams:
- The public-officer / public-funds objection where government is involved, requiring particular consents.
- Disputes over the exact account-holder identity — a slight mismatch in name or entity is a favourite delaying point.
- Claims that the balance is held on trust or is otherwise not the debtor’s beneficially.
- Procedural challenges to service of the order nisi.
Each of these is answerable, but only if anticipated. The application should name the account-holder exactly as the bank records it, attach evidence of the relationship, and be served impeccably.
From nisi to absolute
The order nisi freezes; the order absolute pays. The gap between them is where the debtor makes its stand, often by belatedly surfacing a “dispute” over the underlying judgment. A disciplined creditor keeps the momentum: prompt return dates, evidence ready, and no procedural opening left for an adjournment that lets the balance drain.
Garnishee strategy rewards preparation over force. The creditor who has mapped the banking relationships and drafted around the predictable objections collects; the one who files a generic order and hopes, waits.
This note is general commentary on Nigerian legal practice and does not constitute legal advice or create a lawyer–client relationship. Outcomes depend on the specific facts and the applicable law at the time. For advice on a particular matter, speak with the firm.
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