Jalbait Ventures Nigeria Limited & Anor V. Unity Bank Plc (2016) LLJR-CA

LawGlobal-Hub Lead Judgment Report

AMINA AUDI WAMBAI, J.C.A. 

This appeal is from the decision of Kano State High Court in suit No. K/77/2013 delivered by Hon. Justice lbrahim Musa Karaye on the 3rd day of December, 2014 wherein Judgment was entered in favour of the Respondent against the Appellants.

By its writ of summons under the undefended list, the Respondent as Plaintiff before the Lower Court claimed against the Appellants as Defendants jointly and severally as follows:
“(1) The sum of N74, 054,604.87 (Seventy four million, fifty four thousand, six hundred and four Naira, eighty kobo), which is the exact debit balance of the defendants as at 31st December, 2012, as reflected in their statement of account, which amount comprises of the principal amount collected by the defendants, bank interest and other sundry bank charges.
(2) Interest at the bank rate of 24% (as provided in the offer letters dated 18th August, 2010 and 19th October, 2010), from 31st December, 2012 to the date of judgment of this Honourable Court and thereafter at the Court rate of 10% or more until final liquidation of the whole judgment date.
(3) Cost of instituting

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and prosecuting this case to its logical conclusion including counsel fees and out of pocket expenses assessed at N7,450,450.40 (Seven million, four hundred and fifty thousand, four hundred and fifty Naira forty kobo).”

Pursuant to the filing of a Notice of Preliminary Objection and a Notice of Intention to defend the suit by the Appellant, the Notice of Preliminary Objection was over-ruled and the suit was transferred to the General Cause List. Pleadings were ordered but parties adopted their respective affidavit as their pleadings.

The facts on the pleadings (affidavits) are that the Appellants are long standing customers of the Respondent’s bank at it’s Ibrahim Taiwo Road, branch, Kano. The Appellants by a letter dated 8/3/2010 applied for restructuring of their accounts which had outstanding debit balance and in response to the letter the Respondent granted them a term loan facility of N16,923,682.53 under the terms and conditions stipulated by the Respondent In a letter of 18/8/2010. The said loan was secured by two Deeds of legal mortgages in respect of two properties situated at Hassan Usman Katsina Road, Hotoro GM, Kano, covered by

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certificate of occupancy No. LKN/RES/RC/82/740 and another at Yelwa Quarters, Goron Dutse, Kano, covered by certificate of No.LKN/RES/99/448 and an irrevocable power of attorney in respect of the property subject to the certificate of occupancy LKN/RES/RC/82/7240. On 5/3/2010, the Appellant also applied for further loan of N100,000,000 from the Respondent but was granted only N30, 000,000.00 (N30M) subject to the terms and conditions in the offer letter of 16/5/2011. They however failed to liquidate the loans as at when due despite repeated demands but later wrote an apology letter to the respondent explaining the reason for their inability to settle the debt as being the economic stagnation in the Country but undertook to be remitting N500,000.00 weekly, with effect from June, 2011 which the Appellants did only once. The persistent failure of the Appellants to liquidate the debts led to the institution of the suit.

The case for Appellants on the pleadings is that the Respondents charged them excessive, unauthorized and unconventional interest rates; arbitrary charges and failed to render to them proper statements of their account.
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At the hearing,

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the Respondent called one witness – Musa Yusuf, who doubled as the 2nd Appellant’s account officer and Relations Officer of the Respondent’s branch at Ibrahim Taiwo Road, Kano who testified as PW1 and tendered 10 exhibits. The Appellants called the 2nd Appellant as DW1 who admitted taking the loan facilities but disagreed with what he referred to as the excessive, unauthorized and unconventional charges on their account contrary to the C.B.N. Guidelines. He tendered 8 Exhibits. At the end of the trial, the learned trial Judge found for the Respondent and accordingly entered Judgment per the claim on the writ of summons.

Dissatisfied with the judgment, the Appellant commenced this appeal through a notice of appeal dated 31/2/2014 containing 2 grounds.

Pursuant to the Rules of this Court, both parties through their learned counsel filed and exchanged their briefs of argument. The Appellant’s brief of argument dated 10/8/2015 and filed on 14/8/2015 was settled by M.A.Lawan Esq., while the Respondent’s brief of argument dated and filed 8/10/2015 was settled by Muhammad Ibrahim Esq.
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In his brief, the Appellant’s counsel raised 2 issues for