United Bank For Africa PLC V. Chief Anthony Ajibola Aribisala, San (2016)

LawGlobal-Hub Lead Judgment Report – COURT OF APPEAL

UZO I. NDUKWE-ANYANWU, J.C.A. (Delivering the Leading Judgment)

This is an appeal against the judgment of the High Court of Lagos State delivered on the 28th day of March, 2012 by Hon. Justice

L. B. Lawal-Akapo.

The facts briefly stated are as follows:

By a letter dated the 16th day of October, 2009, the Respondent entered into a debt recovery agreement with the Appellant wherein, the Appellant engaged the services of the Respondent to recover debts owed by some of the Appellant’s defaulting customers. It is important at this stage to reproduce the said letter or otherwise the terms of the agreement thus:

“4.12 RE: BRIEFS TO RECOVER FUNDS ON SOME ACCOUNTS

We refer to your letter of October 8, 2009 on the above subject.

Please be advised that we have carefully reviewed your position on the accounts and have consequently decided to:

(i) Increase the professional fees to 7% of actual recovery.

(ii) Give you the authority to take the matter to Court and get them determined within six months from October 23, 2009…”

It is the case of the Respondent that pursuant to the said letter/agreement, he

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made frantic efforts to recover the money owed to the Appellant by its debtors [by writing letters, holding meetings and instituting several actions in Courts against the Appellant’s debtors). He also alleged that while he was in the process of recovering the debts, the Appellant sold off the subject matter of the agreement to Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) without its approval and without payment of his fees. Hence he commenced this action at the Lower Court via a writ of summon dated the 22nd day of December, 2011, wherein, he claimed as follows:-

a. The sum of N67,907,648.44 (Sixty One Million, Nine Hundred and Seven Thousand, Six Hundred and Forty Eight Naira, Forty Four Kobo) being the professional fees for the legal services rendered by the Claimant at the request of the Defendant in respect of four accounts to wit SMADAC SECURITIES LTD. ICMG SECURITIES LTD, TRUST YIELD SECURITIES LTD, EUROCONINI SECURITIES LTD. And ALHAII ADAMU MU’AZU the details of which are as pleaded in the Statement of Claim.