Kwara State Pilgrims Welfare Board V. Alhaji Jimoh Baba (2018)

LAWGLOBAL HUB Lead Judgment Report

SIDI DAUDA BAGE, J.S.C.

This is an appeal against the decision of the Court of Appeal, Ilorin Division delivered on the 15th day of December, 2004, wherein the lower Court allowed the appeal by setting aside the judgement of the trial Court with its consequential Orders.

SUMMARY OF FACTS

The Appellant, as Plaintiff at the trial Court filed the suit leading to the instant appeal at the High Court of Kwara State, sitting in Ilorin. The Respondent was at all material time to this case, a finance clerk with the Appellant who was charged with the responsibility of assisting the Appellant’s accountant in lodgements of money in banks. On 11th April, 1994 both the Respondent and Appellant’s accountant went to the Kwara State Government House at Ilorin to retrieve the Appellant’s money for lodgement at the United Bank for Africa (UBA), Ilorin branch. The monies were kept in three separate bags containing N683,590:00; N782,550:00 and N310,201:00 respectively.

The Appellant’s accountant left the Respondent with the monies to attend to other urgent engagements relating to the yearly Hajj operations on the assumption

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that the Respondent would deposit the various sums at the designated bank. The Respondent deposited the money but kept the sum of N310,210:00 which, according to him, was not lodged in the designated account of the Appellant, as the Bank had heavy transaction on the particular day.

The day following, the Respondent failed to lodge the money. It was subsequently discovered that, the sum of N125,000:00 was missing from the bag containing N310,210:00 which was handed over to the Respondent for deposit in the bank. The Appellant then instituted this action at the High Court of Justice of Kwara State, sitting in Ilorin. The trial Court delivered its judgement on the 2nd of May, 2000 and found in favour of the Plaintiff (the Appellant herein) and granted the reliefs sought in part.

Being dissatisfied with the judgement of the trial Court, the Respondent (then as Defendant) filed an appeal at the Court of Appeal, Ilorin Division. The lower Court on 15th December, 2004 gave judgement in favour of the Respondent (as Appellant) on the ground that the suit at the trial Court was statute barred in view of the provisions of Section 2

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of the Public Officers Protection Law of Kwara State, Cap 135, Vol. 3, Laws of Kwara State, 1994. The lower Court then allowed the Appeal and set aside the judgement of the trial Court, as contained at pages 128-144 of the Records.

The Appellant’s displeasure at the judgement of the Court below led to the instant appeal. This appeal was brought pursuant to a Notice of Appeal filed on the 11th March, 2005 at the Registry of the lower Court, and is premised on two grounds.

ISSUES FOR DETERMINATION:

The Appellant formulated two (2) issues for determination at page 5 of its Appellant’s Brief dated 20th November, 2006 thus: