Fidelity Bank Plc v. James Olanrewaju & Ors (2024)

LAWGLOBAL HUB Lead Judgment Report – SUPREME COURT

ABUBAKAR SADIQ UMAR, JSC (Delivering the leading judgment)

This is an appeal against the Judgment of the Court of Appeal, Lagos Judicial Division (lower court), delivered on 31st July, 2019.

The judgment affirmed the decision of the High Court of Lagos State (trial court) which inured in favour of the 1st respondent. Aggrieved with the unanimous judgment of the lower court, the appellant commenced this appeal.

Brief statement of facts

The facts culminating in this appeal are quite straightforward. The 1st respondent who was the applicant at the trial court filed an application pursuant to the Fundamental Right Enforcement Procedure (FREP) Rules seeking the following reliefs:

a. A declaration that the beating and physical assault of the applicant by a Mobile Police Officer under the command of the 2nd respondent attached to the Alaba branch of the 1st respondent Bank on the 23rd day of April, 2013 is unconstitutional and a violation of his fundamental right to dignity of his person.

b. An order directing the respondents to pay the sum of N3,000,000.00 (Three Million Naira) only as compensation and damages to the applicant for the breach of his fundamental right to dignity of human person by way of beating and physical assault.

The 1st respondent contended that he visited the appellants branch office at Alaba, Lagos on 23rd April, 2013 for banking transactions. According to the 1st respondent, during an attempt to make a phone call, a mobile policeman attached to the appellants branch office severely assaulted him and threatened to kill him.

It was the 1st respondents case that the appellants branch manager intervened and also profusely apologized to the 1st respondent. Aggrieved by the assault, the 1st respondent commenced an action at the trial court to challenge the violation of his fundamental rights to dignity by the appellant and agents of the 2nd respondent. The appellant and the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State were sued as the 1st and 2nd respondents respectively at the trial court.

The appellant filed processes at the trial court disputing the 1st respondent’s claims. The 2nd respondent did not file any response to the 1st respondents claims. After hearing of the substantive action, the trial court found in favour of the 1st respondent and awarded damages in the sum of N2,000,000 (Two Million) in favour of the 1st respondent.

Dissatisfied with the trial court’s decision, the appellant initiated an appeal to the lower court. The Court of Appeal in its judgment of 31st July, 2019 affirmed the decision of the trial court and dismissed the appeal with the sum of N200,000.00 (Two Hundred Thousand Naira) awarded as cost against the appellant.

The appellant being further dissatisfied with the judgment of the lower court has appealed to this court in a bid to upturn the judgment in its favour. This appeal is therefore an expression of the appellants dissatisfaction with the decision of the lower court.

The appellant filed a notice of appeal dated 3rd September, 2019 wherein the appellant raised four grounds of appeal and distilled four issues for determination therefrom. These issues were argued in the appellants amended brief of argument dated 15th November, 2019 which is settled by Johnson Odionu, Esq. The 1st respondent, in his brief of argument dated 12th December, 2019 and settled by Sesi Hundeyin, Esq. equally raised four issues for determination in this appeal. The appellant subsequently filed a reply to the 1st respondents brief dated 15th July, 2021.

The appellants counsel formulated the following issues for determination to wit: