John C Anyaduba & Anor V. Nigerian Renowned Trading Co Ltd (1990)

LawGlobal-Hub Lead Judgment Report

ESO, J.S.C.

This is a well argued appeal. We had the advantage of two top senior advocates (though one of them was a party to the action and therefore he appeared in person) excellent briefs and excellent oral submissions. Again two very important issues have been raised to wit:

(1) whether or not a “respondents notice” and not a substantive “notice of cross appeal” is the proper procedure for contending that a finding or determination which is crucial or fundamental to the respondent’s case be reversed; and

(2) in regard to the assessment of aggravated damages, what should the court take or not take into consideration

It is however necessary to trace the history of the case up to this court. I rely on what I consider to be a concise and correct assemblage of the facts by the Court of Appeal per Adenekan Ademola, J.C.A.:

“Chief F.R.A. Williams, S.A.N., commenced the action in the Lagos High Court where he claimed the sum of N250, 000.00 as exemplary damages or in the alternative N100,000.00 as aggravated damages for libel which he claimed was contained in a newspaper publication known as the “Evening News” of Monday 19th, 1979. The newspaper was published by the defendant company-the Daily Times of Nigeria Ltd. The article complained of was duly pleaded and it reads as follows:

“One of the country’s legal luminaries, Chief Rotimi Williams, (popularly known as F.R.A. Williams), has been sued for N5 million by the children of a deceased client. Thirteen children of late Michael Oredolapo Onayemi, nine of them infants, are claiming the amount from Chief Williams for “losing or otherwise failing to make available the February 1978 will of the deceased.” “Or in not seeing that the February 1978 draft will of the deceased was duly executed between February 1978 when the Chief completed amending and causing the same to be typed out and 12th May, 1978 when the deceased died.” The children are also asking that Chief Williams be ordered to “surrender to the court the true last will of the deceased made in February 1978 now in his custody or power and or copies thereof and that the same pronounced for in solemn form.”

Three other co-executors of the will are joined by the children in their demand that “probate of the pretended last will of the deceased dated 27th October, 1975, propounded by the defendants be revoked and pronounced against .

The defendant appealed to the Court of Appeal on the issues of liability by relying on the defence of privilege. After a most learned treatise the court (as per Adenekan Ademola, J.C.A.) dismissed the appeal on this ground. However on the issue of damages the court held:

“It has not been established by the appellant in his argument that the learned Judge proceeded on wrong principle in the award of damages. What was taken into consideration which ought not to be taken into consideration were the two other publications of the same paper about the respondent which have not been proved to be false and had been said by the learned Judge to have been done to ridicule the respondent. The inference to ridicule the respondent by the publications should not be readily and necessarily be drawn. Besides, I am of the view that to grant what was wholly claimed in this suit as exemplary unliquidated damages was not in step with the practice of the court. In the case of Lardner v. The Sketch Publishing Company (supra) which was used by the learned Judge

Trustees, the three others are Mr. Vincent A.O. Ogunba, Mrs. Olaronke Adesola Agymann-Bempah and Mrs. Yetunde Alusi. The two women are children of the deceased. The children are also asking for a declaration that the defendants are trustees for the intended beneficiaries and ‘to the extent provided for in the draft will by the deceased in February 1978 after the Chief’s legal superintendence and which will he had negligently and or otherwise prevented the deceased from executing.”

The banner headline of the newspaper on its first page read in very bold capital letters

“F.R.A. WILLIAMS SUED FOR N5m followed,in less bold letters by the words “Tussle over the will of a father.”

The picture of the plaintiff was displayed by the side of the publication.