Unity Bank PLC V. Chief S.U. Nwadike & Anor (2008)

LawGlobal-Hub Lead Judgment Report

HELEN MORONKEJI OGUNWUMIJU, J.C.A.

This is an appeal against the judgment of the Benin High Court delivered by Hon. Justice A.A. AGUN on 19th February, 2002. The court granted all the reliefs sought by the Plaintiffs.

Being dissatisfied, the Respondents at the trial court have now appealed to this court. The facts which led to this appeal are as follows:

In 1975, the 1st Respondent, a Businessman and the Managing Director of the 2nd Respondent’s Company opened an Account No. 5456 with the Appellant.

Subsequently, at the request of Mr. W .J. Anukpe, who was at that material time, the Managing Director of the Appellant, a Partnership for the importation of cement was formed and made up of the 1st Respondent, Mr. W.J. Anukpe and one Dr. G. Orewa as partners. Each partner was to contribute N20, 000.00 (Twenty Thousand Naira) as capital for the Partnership. Mr. W.J. Anukpe and Dr. G. Orewa did not contribute their share while the 1st Respondent provided the bulk of the partnership fund. An Account No. 5570 was opened with the Appellant Bank for the Partnership with the 1st Respondent and one Mr. Eghara, a nominee of Mr. W.J. Anukpe and Dr. Orewa were co-signatories to the partnership account. Following the failure of Mr. Anukpe and Dr. Orewa to pay their share to the Partnership Account, the 1st Respondent removed their nominee, Mr. Eghara as a Director of the Partnership and from being a signatory to the partnership Account No. 5570. The 1st Respondents then withdrew the sum of N35, 000 from it. The Appellant Bank infiltrated into 2nd Respondent’s Bank Account No. 5456 by debiting it and crediting the Partnership Account No. 5570 with the sum of N40, 000.00 whereby the 2nd Respondent’s overdraft facilities on Account No. 5456 was overdrawn by a debit balance of N77, 115.04 as shown in Exhibit “A” dated 16/1/79 by which the Appellant informed the 1st Respondent of the transaction.

Exhibit “A” is at page 160 of the Record.

The Respondents’ case is that when the matter became contentious the then Governor of Bendel State set up the Odaro committee to look into the matter to settle the dispute. The committee persuaded the Respondents to forego the sum of N125, 000.00 on condition that the Appellant would give the Respondents additional credit facility. The Respondents supplied additional collateral but the Appellant refused to extend t he facility. All efforts by the parties to resolve the dispute proved abortive, hence the Respondents filed an action at the Edo State High Court sitting at Benin for the following reliefs by paragraph 33 of the Amended Joint Statement of Claim filed on 12/1/2001.

(33) Whereof the plaintiffs’ claims against the defendants are as follows:-

(a) The sum of N362, 284, 46 being the sum unlawfully removed from the 2nd plaintiff account 5456 by the defendant.

(b) The sum of $1,151,000 US Dollars of (sic) its Naira equivalent as the value of the 100,000 cartons of carnation milk the defendant confiscated from the plaintiffs and sold out.

(c) The sum of $804,000 US Dollars of (sic) its Naira equivalent being the value of the 12,000 matric tone of cement the defendant confiscated from the plaintiffs and sold out.

(d) The sum of N3, 750,000.00 seized or trapped in the 2nd plaintiff’s account No. 5456 by the defendant.

(e) The sum of N150, 000,000.00 being special damages arising from the defendant’s unlawful interference with the plaintiffs account and frustration of the plaintiffs business.

(f) An order directing the defendant to release to the plaintiffs the following title deeds covering the 1st plaintiff’s properties:-