Peter Okoro Osakwe V. Union Bank Of Nig. Plc (2009)

LawGlobal-Hub Lead Judgment Report

GEORGE OLADEINDE SHOREMI J.C.A.

This is an appeal by the Appellant who was the Plaintiff in the lower court against the judgment of Ikponwen Judge sitting at High Court of Justice Ekpoma and delivered on 22/1 0/03 wherein he dismissed the Appellant’s case in its entirety and awarded cost to the Respondent. The facts of the case briefly stated are as follows:

The Plaintiff, now Appellant, is a regular customer of the Defendant/Respondent where he maintains three accounts viz – a Current Account, a saving Account and a loan Account. On 11/11/98, Plaintiff upon an application was granted an Agriculture Loan of N80.000.00 (Eighty Thousand Naira) with the terms well spelt out in Exhibit ‘D’. The loan was to be defrayed on or before 30/10/99.

Plaintiff asserted he did not breach any of the terms of the loan facility but suddenly on 8/4/99, the Defendant/Respondent unilaterally liquidated the loan by withdrawing the sum of N66,000.0 outstanding from the Plaintiff’s saving account. This was done without the Plaintiff/Appellant’s knowledge or consent and in breach of the subsisting contract between the two parties. Yet the Defendant/Respondent continued to deduct interest on the liquidated loan.

On 11/10/99, Plaintiff/Appellant claimed he made a case lodgment of N50,000.00 (Fifty Thousand Naira) into his savings account, but the account was not credited until 10/11/99.

On 31/8/200, Plaintiff/Appellant was again granted Agriculture loan of N100,000.00. On 5/12/2000, Plaintiff/Appellant liquidated the loan and subsequently asked for a comprehensive statement of his account which the Defendant/Respondent did not oblige him; hence he wrote the Branch Manager of Iruekpen and the Head Office in Benin City. Plaintiff/Appellant did not get any response still, so on 9/4/2001 he reported the matter to the police.

Defendant/Respondent produced a statement of account and published it to the police which portrayed the Plaintiff/Appellant as a debtor. Consequently, Plaintiff/Appellant instituted this action.

The Appellant’s case was fought on his further and better amended statement of claim dated 2/10/02 and his claim is stated therein as follows –

Plaintiff claims from the defendant as follows:

(a) The sum of N1000,000.00 (One Hundred Million Naira) Being general damages against the defendant for negligent handling of the plaintiff’s various accounts with the defendant particularly the savings and Agric/loan Account with the defendant’s branch at Iruekpen Ekpoma, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable court between 1999 and 2001.

(b) The sum of N1000,000.00 (One hundred Naira) only being General damages for libelous defamation in that sometime in 2001, the defendant unlawfully represented to the commissioner of police, Edo State by way of false statements of plaintiff’s Agric/loan Account No. 3191187590 that the plaintiff was a debtor liable to pay interest to defendant in the said Account as at 30-4-99 and 27-5-99 even though plaintiff has settled all indebtedness to the defendant in the said Account as at 8-4-99, reason whereof plaintiff has suffered damaged and has been in red his credit, character and reputation and has been held in low esteem and been shunned and avoided as a common debtor by reasonable and right thinking members of the society and the police.

The Respondent also filed an amended state of defence upon which the case was tried in the High Court. After evidence were taken on both sides the learned trial judge dismissed the Appellant’s case in the following manner and I quote for ease of reference.

“I have given due consideration to all the facts adduced by the parties and the submissions of both Counsel. From the above facts, taking the claim of N100,000.000 for damages for defamation first, I find that the plaintiff bases his claim on the fact that the defendant sent his statement of account to the Commissioner of Police, Edo State showing that he was indebted to the defendant which he states is not true. It is trite law that a person commits the tort of defamation when he or she publishes to a third person words containing an untrue imputation against the reputation of another. See Ciroma v. Alli (1999) 2 NWLR (PT 590) 317. In the case of F.M.B. v. Adesokan (2003) 3 NWLR 19 at 29. Onnoghen JCA.,(as he then was stated inter alia as follows:-

“By defamation we mean any imputation which may tend to lower the plaintiff in the estimation or right thinking members of the society generally and expose him to hatred, contempt or ridicule. An imputation may be defamatory whether or not it is believed by those to whom it is published. In the case of libel and slander actionable per se, the publication of the matter containing defamatory imputation is actionable without proof of damage.”