Fadac Entreprises Limited & Ors v. Patrick Chizea & Ors (2023)

LAWGLOBAL HUB Lead Judgment Report – SUPREME COURT

CHIMA CENTUS NWEZE, JSC (Delivering the leading judgment)

The appellants herein seek this court’s interference with the concurrent findings of fact of the two lower courts; the judgment of the Court of Appeal, Abuja Judicial Division, which was delivered on November 23, 2014, which affirmed the judgment of the trial court delivered on March 9, 2012, given in favour of the respondents.

The respondents had commenced an action at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja (“trial court”), via a writ of summons against the appellants on 21st March, 2010, seeking the following reliefs:

(a) A declaration that the defendants are in breach of contract entered into with the plaintiffs and as such liable to pay the plaintiffs money sum due to them.

(b) An order of this honourable court directing the defendants to pay the sum of N1,250,000.00 (one million, two hundred and fifty thousand, naira) respectively to the first and second plaintiffs being the sum of money due to them for performing their part of the contract with respect lawfully ejecting the recalcitrant tenants and bringing a potential buyer of plot C12 Gado Nasko Road, Kubwa, Abuja, who offered the sum of N25,000,000.00k (twenty five million naira, only) but the defendants declined.

(c) An order of this honourable court directing the defendants to pay the sum of N1,250,000.00 (one million, two hundred and fifty thousand, naira) respectively to the first and second plaintiffs being the sum of money due to them for performing their part of the contract with respect to the procurement of the Hotel Plot 401, Aviation Village Airport Road, Abuja and bringing a potential buyer who offered the sum of N280,000,000.00 (two hundred and eighty million, naira) only.

(d) Cost of this action.

The respondents’ position at the trial court was primarily that, the appellants, sometime in October, 2006, precisely on 26th October, 2006, formally entered into a documented agreement with the respondents pursuant to series of discussions and negotiations the parties had previously. These were for the recovery of possession of appellants’ property situate at No. C12, Gado Nasko Road Kubwa, Abuja. To sell same, and further, the facilitation and procurement of land suitable for hotel plots as incorporated in the Tripartite Memorandum of Understanding, referred to as exhibit “A” and exhibit “C”, respectively.

It was agreed that the respondents shall take five percent and ten percent, respectively, of the proceeds that will accrue from the sale of the property at C12, Gado Nasko Road Kubwa, Abuja. That is, after the respondents have ejected the tenants from the property and sold same.

The parties equally agreed that the same five percent and ten percent, respectively, shall equally apply to the agreement to facilitate the procurement of land suitable for hotel plots that the appellants engaged the respondents to facilitate and procure for hotel purposes and to sell same.

The respondents, at the trial court, testified that having fulfilled their part of the bargain, the appellants reneged in honouring their side of the contract, that is, the five percent and ten percent respectively regarding the property at C12, Gado Nasko Road, Kubwa and plot 401 Cadastral Zone EO 5 Aviation Village Airport Road, Abuja.

In a closely reasoned judgment, which has occasioned grievance to the appellants, the trial court found the evidence of the appellants to be contradictory in thatfirstly, the appellants claimed that the second respondent did not have the capacity to facilitate the procurement of the twenty-one plots of land known as Plot 401, Aviation Village, Airport Road, Abuja, covered by exhibit A as the appellants claimed to only have engaged the second respondent with the sum of four million, naira (N4,000,000.00), only, to pay documentation and processing fees at AGIS and tendered exhibit E1-E6 as evidence.

However, the appellants were only able to prove the sum of two million, four hundred and twenty thousand naira (N2,420,000.00), only. Also, in sharp contrast, the same appellants tendered exhibit C, contained at page 60 of the record of appeal which was another agreement between the appellants and the second respondent to facilitate the procurement of another plots of land for estate development in favour of the appellants.

Dissatisfied with the decision of the trial court, the appellants unsuccessfully appealed to the lower court via a notice of appeal filed on 24th May, 2012, containing five grounds of appeal. The appellants are now before this court via a notice of appeal filed on 28th November, 2014, containing fourgrounds of appeal.