Solicitor-general Western Nigeria V. Dr Festus Adebonojo & Ors (1971)

LawGlobal-Hub Lead Judgment Report

PER COKER JSC

The Solicitor-General of Western Nigeria has appealed against the judgement of the Western State Court of Appeal given in matter in which the Solicitor-General had sued the respondent in the High Court, Ibadan on a writ which was endorsed as follows:-

“The plaintiff’s claim against the defendants jointly and severally is for the sum of £4,909-15s-3d being liquidated damages for a breach at Ibadan, by the 1st defendant, of an agreement executed in or about October, 1957, as varied by another agreement executed on 6th March, 1962, between the 1st defendant and the Government of Western Nigeria.

That 2nd defendant as guardian/parent of the 1st defendant as well as the 3rd and 4th defendants as guarantors to the 1st defendant also executed the said agreement as parties thereto and are also liable to pay the Government of Western Nigeria the said sum of £4,909-15s-3d in consequence of the breach of the said agreement.

The 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th defendants have refused to pay the said sum of £4,909-15s-3d or any part thereof to the Government of Western Nigeria despite repeated demands made for same.”

The High Court ordered the parties to file their respective pleadings and they did so. The principal averments in the plaintiff’s statement of claim are:-

(i) that the Government of Western Nigeria provided the 1st defendant with an overseas scholarship with effect from October, 1956 and that the parties executed a written contract in the terms of their agreement.

(ii) that the other defendants were the guarantors of the 1st defendant for the faithful performance and discharge of the obligations thereunder arising, that the 1st defendant had returned to Nigeria after the expiration of the time of the award (his passages having been paid in accordance with his request by the Government of Western Nigeria).

(iii) that in breach of the said contract, the first defendant had refused to serve the Government of Western Nigeria for the period stipulated in the agreement.

On the other hand the statement of defence denied the principle averments in the statement of claim, challenged the authority of the Solicitor-General to institute the present proceedings, and averred that the 1st defendant had to resign his appointment with the Western Nigeria Government because the office and conditions of service offered him were not commensurate with his qualifications at the time he returned to Nigeria. The statement of defence finally averred as follows:-

“The 1st defendant would further contend that no offer of employment within the meaning of the agreement relied upon was made to him and that he merely applied for and undertook normal engagement with the Western Nigeria Government which was determinable by one month’s notice on either side.”

The case came up for trial before Delumo J. The plaintiff called evidence to show that the 1st defendant did apply for overseas scholarship to be sponsored by the Government of Western Nigeria, and that the defendants entered into a bond with the Permanent Secretary in the State’s Ministry of Education. This bond was produced in evidence as exhibit “C”. Later by application produced in evidence as exhibit E the 1st defendant applied for a post-graduate scholarship to study paediatrics at the Yale University, in the State of Connecticut in the United State of America. This scholarship was formally awarded to him by the Western Nigeria Government by letter dated the 20th September, 1961 (admitted in this proceedings as exhibit F). In respect of the post-graduate award, the Permanent Secretary, Western Nigeria Ministry of Education and all the defendants again signed a “Variation Agreement” on the 6th of March, 1962 and this was admitted in evidence as exhibit H.

It was also part of the case of the plaintiff that the 1st defendant failed within the time stipulated in exhibit C and H to qualify for the specialities in paediatrics and that at his own request, he and his family had been repatriated back home to Nigeria; that he was offered employment in the State’s Ministry of Health first on a temporary basis but before his appointment was made permanent the defendant had resigned from the services of the Government of Western Nigeria. The plaintiff claims that the total amount spent by the Government on the 1st defendant was £4,909-15s-3d and that the other defendants who were the guarantors or sureties of the 1st defendant have failed or refused to pay back this amount to the Government of Western Nigeria according to the tenor of exhibits C and H even though they were informed that the 1st defendant was in breach of the agreement and that he had failed or refused to make a refund.

On the other hand, only one witness gave evidence for the defence, that was the 3rd defendant Dr. Badejo Adebonojo. He disclaimed liability to the plaintiff in the amount claimed or indeed any amount at all, but admitted that all the defendants had executed exhibits C and H and confirmed that it was the 1st defendant who had signed the letter dated 7th March, 1963 (admitted in evidence as exhibit J) requesting the Government of Western Nigeria to arrange and pay for the repatriation of himself and his family. The letter exhibit J, was addressed to the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Western Nigeria and it reads as follows:-