Adeyemi v. Bosak Microfinance Bank Ltd (2024)

LawGlobal-Hub Lead Judgment Report – COURT OF APPEAL

UGOCHUKWU ANTHONY OGAKWU, JCA (Delivering the leading judgment)

The provenance of this action is in the loan facility granted to the appellant by the respondent.

The respondent, contending that the appellant had defaulted in repaying the loan instituted proceedings before the High Court of Ogun State to recover the outstanding amount in suit No. AB/63/2022: Bosak Microfinance Bank Limited v. Hon. Adekunle Adeyemi. The respondent claimed the following reliefs:

i) N29,252,543.57k (Twenty Nine Million, Two Hundred and Fifty Two Thousand, Five Hundred and Forty-Three Naira, Fifty-Seven Kobo) being the outstanding sum on the loan taken from the claimant.

ii) Interest at the rate of 10% on the judgment from the date of delivery of judgment till the loan is fully liquidated.

iii) N2,000,000 (Two Million Naira) as general damages.

The respondent further filed an application for summary judgment on the basis that the appellant had no defence to the action.

Upon service of the court processes, the appellant filed his statement of defence as well as an application challenging the jurisdiction of the lower court to entertain the action on the grounds that the action was premature and disclosed no cause of action.

The lower court heard argument on the application for summary judgment together with the application challenging its jurisdiction to entertain the action. In its ruling, it dismissed both applications, held that the statement of defence disclosed triable issues and it transferred the case to the general cause list for determination.

The appellant was dissatisfied with the decision of the lower court dismissing his application and he appealed against the same by notice of appeal filed on 11th November 2022.

The ruling of the lower court which was delivered on 28th October 2022 is at pages 132 – 136 of the records of appeal, while the notice of appeal is at pages 138 – 141 of the records of appeal. In prosecution of the appeal, the records of appeal having been compiled and transmitted, the parties filed and exchanged briefs of argument which learned counsel adopted and relied upon at the hearing of the appeal.

The briefs on which the appeal was argued are the appellant’s brief of argument filed on 29th December, 2022 and the respondent’s brief of argument filed on 3rd February 2023. The appellant distilled two issues for determination, which issues were adopted by the respondent. The said issues are:

1. Whether the trial court was not in breach of the appellant’s right to fair hearing in failing to consider the unchallenged relevant affidavit evidence relied upon for his objection (ground 3).
2. Whether the trial court was right in holding that it had jurisdiction to entertain the respondent’s case and that the case disclosed cause of action and was not premature (grounds 1, 2, and 4).

The issues formulated by the appellant are idoneous. The issues would therefore form the lodestar for reviewing the submissions of learned counsel and the synchronous resolution of this matter.

Submissions of the appellant’s counsel