Salaudeen V. M.t. Mamman (2000)

LawGlobal-Hub Lead Judgment Report

SALAMI, J.C.A. 

The plaintiff sued the defendant claiming general damages for malicious publication by defendant concerning the plaintiff in the defendant’s letter to the plaintiffs’ employers dated 28th of January, 1993 to wit:

“I hereby affirm that the conclusion we agreed on at the meeting under your reference letter written to us, is still hold, and we still state that the inability to regularise the account in question is as a result of compulsory bribe taken by Mallam M.T. Mamman, the predecessor manager which is above N600,000 and as mentioned in the meeting, we attribute this predicament to his contribution i.e. compulsory bribe taken.

We request your urgent intervention on this issue in order to bail us out if we may recall the second meeting held with Mallam M. T. Mamman was with the motive of agreement on how to settle the debt between us i.e. M.T. Mamman A. A. Salaudeen but since nothing came out of this and your letter of today 25th January, 1993 we still maintained that the payment of the debt should be a joint effort…”

(Italics mine).

Pleadings were filed and exchanged as statement of claim, statement of defence and a two paragraph reply to statement of defence. But in the statement of claim apart from quoting in paragraph 3 of the statement of claim letter already quoted above, the plaintiff recited the contents of two other documents which can respectively be found in paragraphs 4 and 5 thereof. It is appropriate, at this stage to recite the contents of the three paragraphs of the statement of claim. Paragraphs 3, 4 and 5 read as follows:-

“3. On or about the 28th of January, and in a letter dated the said 28th of January, 1993 addressed to the Branch Manager, Trade Bank Plc, Kaduna and signed by the defendant which letter is hereby pleaded, the defendant falsely and maliciously wrote, printed and published or caused to be written, printed and published in the said letter concerning the plaintiff the following words:

“Re: Application for Temporary Facility:

I hereby affirm that the conclusion we agreed on at the meeting under your reference letter written to us, is still hold. And we still state that the inability to regularise the account in question is as a result of compulsory bribe taken by Mallam M. T. Mamman, the predecessor manager which is above N600,000 and as mentioned in the meeting, we attribute this predicament to his contribution i.e. compulsory bribe taken …

We request your urgent intervention on this issue in order to bail us out if we may recall the second meeting held with Mallam M.T. Mamman was with the motive of agreement on how to settle the debt between us (i.e. M.T. Mamman A. A. Salaudeen) but since nothing came out of this and your letter of today Jan., 1993 we still maintained that the payment of the debt should be joint effort …”

4. That the defendant further falsely and maliciously caused his solicitors to write, print and publish words concerning the plaintiff in a letter Ref: NO SNC/09/93, dated 8th February, 1993 to the plaintiff’s employer by their said solicitors. The plaintiff hereby pleads and shall rely on a copy of the letter at the hearing of this suit. The said letter is published to the following effects:-

Re: Letter of Demand on Mr. A.A. Salaudeen on behalf of Trade Bank Plc.

“…we are given to understand by our client that the account is jointly operated by himself and your clients former Kaduna Branch Manager, now Area Manager (North) Mallam M. T. Mamman. It is also our client’s contention that Mallam M.T. Mamman aforesaid has benefited from the account to the tune of about N600,000 (six hundred thousand Naira only) with effect that all our client’s effort to liquidate and/or regularise the said account has been reduced to nothingness …”

(Italics mine).

5. On or about the 27th January, 1993 and in the minutes of a meeting held on the same date which minutes is hereby pleaded, the defendant falsely and maliciously caused to be written, printed and published the following words concerning the plaintiff:-

Visitation report to Alh. A. A. Salaudeen shop: