Polaris Bank Limited Formerly (Skye Bank Plc) v. Forte Oil Plc (Formerly African Petroleum Plc) (2022)

LAWGLOBAL HUB Lead Judgment Report – SUPREME COURT

TIJJANI ABUBAKAR, JSC (Delivering the leading judgment)

This appeal emanates from the decision of the Court of Appeal Lagos Division delivered on the 11th day of September, 2020.

The lower court in its judgment allowed the appellant’s appeal in part, setting aside the award of the sum of N3,400,000,000 against the appellant.

The respondent as the plaintiff in suit No. FHC/L/CS/160/2013 commenced action by a writ of summons before Federal High Court Lagos, where the following reliefs were sought against the appellant, who was the defendant at the trial court;

I. “A declaration that the manner in which the defendant operated then plaintiff’s Account No. 0030015642617 with the defendant is wrongful, irregular, unethical and contrary to all known banking regulations and practice.

II. An order directing the defendant to credit the plaintiff’s Account No. 0030015642617, with the defendant, with the sum of N3,441,529,445.17K (Three Billion, Four Hundred and Forty-one million, Five Hundred and Twenty Nine Thousand Four Hundred and Forty-five Naira, Seventeen Kobo only) being the total sum of the unauthorized and wrongful charges, deductions and interest that would have accrued to the plaintiff had its instruction of July 22, 2009 been carried out by the defendant on the plaintiff’s account.

III. An order of perpetual injunction restraining the defendant from any further unauthorized charges, deductions and or withholding any sum of the plaintiff’s Account No. 0030015672617.

By way of brief summary of facts, the respondent, a customer of the appellant Bank with loan Account No. 0030015642617 (Multiple Facilities Account- MFA) brought an action against the appellant at the lower court wherein it alleged wrongful, irregular and unethical manner by which its MF Account was operated by the appellant Bank and claimed the sum of N3,441,529,445.17k (Three Billion, Four Hundred and Forty-One Million Five Hundred and Twenty Nine Thousand, Four Hundred and Forty-Five Naira) being the total sum of the alleged unauthorized wrongful charges, deductions and interests.

In response to the above, the appellant as defendant filed a consequential amended statement of defence and counter-claim on the 30th day of March, 2016 thereby denying the claim of the respondent plaintiff.

The appellant claimed that it did nothing wrongful, irregular or contrary to the banking practice and regulations, particularly in the manner it operated the said respondent’s Account.

At the conclusion of the trial, the trial court granted the reliefs sought by the plaintiff/respondent and dismissed the defendant/appellant’s counter-claim. The appellants became aggrieved by the decision of the trial court and therefore filed notice of appeal at the lower court in Lagos on the 12th day of July, 2017.

At the lower court, the appellant’s appeal was heard, determined and allowed in part by the lower court. The lower court set aside the award of the sum of N3,412,796,996.23. (Three Billion, Four Hundred and Twelve Million, Seven Hundred and Ninety-Six Thousand, Nine Hundred and Ninety-Six Naira Twenty Three Kobo) claimed as excess interest and Commission on turnover (COT) charges from the account of the respondent.

Learned senior counsel for the appellant Professor Gbolahan Elias SAN nominated and argued seven issues for determination in the appellant’s brief of argument filed on the 26th day of May, 2014, the brief was deemed as properly filed and served on the 12th day of April, 2022. The issues are set out as follows:

I. Whether the lower court did not err and occasion gross miscarriage of justice to the appellant when it jettisoned the appellant’s issue 1-8 which are issues of law formulated from grounds of law contained in the appellant’s appeal based upon a sole issue it reformulated from an omnibus ground of appeal contained in ground 9 of the appellant’s notice of appeal. (Distilled from ground one of the notice of appeal)