Tabik Investment Ltd. & Anor V. Guaranty Trust Bank Plc (2011)

LAWGLOBAL HUB Lead Judgment Report

M. MUKHTAR, J.S.C.

The plaintiffs’ claim against the defendant as per the writ of summons in the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory are as follows:-

“(i) The sum of N5,000,000.00 (Five million Naira) being the value of cheque that the Defendant negligently and unethically allowed to be cleared by the unknown person.

(ii) The sum of N20,000,000.00 (Twenty Million Naira) being the cost purchase of the said plot of land.

(iii) The sum of N100,000,000.00 (One hundred Million Naira) as general damages.”

Briefly put, the case of the plaintiffs was that the 1st plaintiff (a registered company) maintains a current account with the defendant’s Area 3, Garki Branch, Abuja. On 9th of July 2001 the 1st plaintiff together with its Chairman/Chief Executive caused a draft to be issued from the 1st plaintiff’s account in favour of Professor Michael A. Ajomo as purchase price of a plot of land in Abuja, but the draft was not received by the said beneficiary. After the payment they took possession and built a duplex on the land. A year later they discovered that the said draft was cleared from the Defendant’s Kano branch, by a man purporting to be professor Michael Ajomo, who had opened an account there and lodged the draft. On 13/7/2001 and 19/7/2010 the defendant allowed the fake professor Ajomo to withdrew almost the entire N5,000,000.00 from the said account No.18219110 which he had been assigned without verifying his identity. The plaintiffs claimed that the defendant violated the laid down proceduring of the opening of account, in the case of this purported Professor Ajomo, and so they were negligent in the opening of the account, and the clearing of the amount in the draft in his favour. The plaintiffs gave particulars of negligence as follows:-

(i) By allowing unknown person to open an account in the name of the Beneficiary of the said draft, Prof. Michael Ajomo.

(ii) By not properly identifying the person as required by the Banks practice and law or the Defendant standard operating Brochure TSG/CIS/07 of June 1999.

(iii) By using a staff of the Bank to stand as a referee to person she does not or had not met in her life.

(iv) By allowing the unknown Professor Michael Ajomo to withdraw from the said account without providing proper referees.

(v) By allowing the unknown Prof. Michael Ajomo to withdraw bulk of money with mere paper application without cheque book.

(vi) Failure to exercise the care and diligence in clearing the cheque.”

The defendant denied most of the above claims and stated that it met the due requirements for the opening of account No 182159110, even though the requirement of referee was deferred, which was not alien to banking rules. The defendant denied that it was negligent, but alleged that it was the plaintiffs that lacked diligence and care in all the transactions regarding the purchase of the land and the purported conversion of the draft, and were thus negligent as per the following particulars of negligence.

(i) Failure to conduct proper and any search whatsoever on the file of the property at the FCDA lands department to verify the authenticity of the certificate of occupancy shown to him at the inception of the transaction as to put them on notice whether they were dealing with the right person(s) or whether the C of O was genuine or fake.