Afribank Nigeria Plc V. Aminu Ishola Investment Limited (2001)

LawGlobal-Hub Lead Judgment Report

ONNOGHEN, J.C.A.

This is an appeal against the judgment of the High Court of Justice of Kwara State in suit NO. KWS/188/91 delivered by Hon. Justice Ahmed Belgore on 21st December, 1999 in favour of the respondent in which he ordered the return of the sum of N467,000.00 which was kept as a fixed deposit to the respondent with interest thereon and further awarded general damages of N2 million against the appellant.

The facts of the case include the following:

Sometime in August 1988 the respondent as a customer of the appellant opened a fixed deposit account with the sum of 467,000.00 at the Ilorin branch of the appellant. It was agreed by the parties that an initial interest of 12.25% per annum would be payable on the deposit and that the monthly interest on the fixed deposit shall be transferred into the respondent’s current account every month. The parties also agreed that the initial rate of interest of 12.25% per annum could be renewed upwards at the end of the year by negotiation. The appellant, in compliance with the agreement, paid interest for the months of August and September, 1988.

On 31/10/88, the respondent repudiated the fixed deposit agreement and gave notice of its intention to withdraw the whole amount as provided under the agreement but the appellant refused to give the respondent access to the money on the ground that it had received instructions from the Central Bank of Nigeria to freeze the respondent’s account. Dissatisfied with the action of the appellant the respondent instituted the action at the lower court claiming as per its further amended statement of claim, paragraph 38 thereof, the following reliefs:

“38. WHEREOF the plaintiff claims as follows:

1. Declaration that the failure or refusal of the defendant to allow the plaintiff to withdraw from its deposit account No. 70-100-029 constitutes a breach of contract and the plaintiff (sic) constitutional right to its property and is therefore wrongful and illegal.

ii. AN ORDER directing the defendant to release to the plaintiff the principal sum of N467,000.00 deposited into the account plus interest calculated at the rate of 12.25% per annum from August, 1988 till November, 1989.

iii. AN ORDER directing the defendant to pay the plaintiff by way of special damages additional interest calculated at the rate of 25% or any other rate found due by the court on the Principal sum plus accrued interest from December 1989 till the date of judgment.

iv. Order directing the defendant to pay 10% interest on whatever sum adjudged due to the plaintiff from the date of judgment till liquidation.

v. AN ORDER directing the defendant to pay the plaintiff the sum of N20,000,000.00 on representing general damages suffered by the plaintiff as a result of the failure of the defendants to allow the plaintiff to withdraw money from the deposit account and or as damages for breach of contract and or for the wrongful detention of the plaintiff’s money since 1988 to date.” See the further amended statement of claim at pages 32 to 37 of the record.

I want to point out herein the fact that the respondent was paid the agreed interest of 12.25% per annum for August and September 1988 as averred at paragraph 12 of the further amended statement of claim but went ahead to claim interest for those months in paragraph 38(ii) reproduced supra.”

Anyway, dissatisfied with the judgment of the lower court, the appellant has appealed to this court on five grounds of appeal out of which learned counsel for the appellant, DURO ADEYELE Esq., has formulated three issues for the determination of this appeal in his brief of argument deemed filed on 25/9/01, which brief was adopted in argument of the appeal on 21st November, 2001. The issues are as follows:-

“1. Whether the plaintiff’s cause of action is founded in contract or in tort of detinue and whether the learned trial Judge was right to have assessed damages for breach of contract and detinue instead of contract only.

2. Whether the further award of N2 million damages did not amount to double compensation in view of the earlier award for loss of interest.
3. Whether the learned trial Judge was right in awarding interest at rates higher than 12.25% specifically agreed to by the parties.”

On the other hand, learned SAN for the respondent Yusuf O. Ali, Esq. in his brief of argument filed on 25/9/01 which he also adopted in argument, formulated two issues out of the said five grounds of appeal. The issues are as follows:-