Adeyemi Durojaiye V. Continental Feeders (Nigeria) Ltd. (2001)

LawGlobal-Hub Lead Judgment Report

ADEREMI, J.C.A.

By the amended statement of claim, the appellant who was the plaintiff in the court below, High Court of Lagos sitting at Ikeja, claimed against the respondent who was the defendant before that court as follows:-

(i) An order of specific performance of the lease agreement dated 12th December, 1991.

(ii) An order of court directing the defendant to:

(a) appoint a reputable firm of Estate Surveyors and Valuers to carry out a rental valuation of the Estate,

(b) take adequate insurance cover on the Estate against fire and windstorm,

(c) to remove the Manager’s residence that was erected without the plaintiff’s consent first had and obtained,

(d) to obtain town planning permission in respect of the boys quarters erected on the estate,

(e) to re-erect the collapsed concrete rear wall fence,

(f) to hand over to the plaintiff the receipt of payment of the mandatory withholding tax on rents paid for the years 1991 to 1998.

ALTERNATIVELY, the plaintiff claims:

(a) forfeiture of the lease agreement dated 12th day of December, 1991,

(b) mesne profit at the rate of N10,000,000.00 per annum from the date of service, of the writ of summons and statement of claim on the defendant, until possession is given up.

Suffice it to say that the relationship of sublessor/sublessee existed between the appellant and the respondent by virtue of a deed of sub-lease, dated 12th December, 1991. The appellant sued the respondent for rent claimed to be due to him under the agreement and for the specific performance of the agreement as evidenced by the reliefs set out supra. The pleading exchanged between the parties are the amended statement of claim and the statement of defence. Upon the settlement of the pleadings, some applications were filed in court, but for the purpose of this appeal, the one relevant is an application brought ex-parte, dated 9th September, 1999, for Mareva injunction, for an order restraining the defendant from spending or tampering in any manner whatsoever, with the sum of N4,632,000.00, being the balance of what should accrue to the plaintiff from the total annual rent collected by the defendant, from the 1999/2000 tenancy year on the property, at 7, Adefowope Crescent, Opebi, an order that the defendant do pay the said sum into an escrow account in the name of the Chief Registrar of the court, pending the final determination of the suit and finally for an order compelling the defendant to disclose, on oath, the names of all its bankers, its account numbers and all the balances therein. The application ex-parte, was granted in the interim. The defendant was thereafter, put on notice of the said application. After taking arguments of counsel on both sides, the learned trial Judge (Adeyinka, J.) in his ruling, delivered on 20th October, 1999, discharging the interim order held thus: