West African Examinations Council V. Providence Ogechukwu Mekwunye (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 decision of the High Court of Lagos State delivered on the 19th day of November, 2013 by Hon. Justice O. O. Femi-Adeniyi.

Sometime in April 2008, the Appellant published an advert in the National dailies inviting interested candidates to register online via Appellant’s website for the Senior Certificate Exams for November/December 2008 batch. In view of the advert, the Respondent purchased a scratch card for the online registration and then accessed the Appellant’s website to register.

It is the case of the Respondent that she registered for the examination with the name “Mekwunye Providence Ogechukwu” but upon acknowledgment of the registration the last two letters of her name was omitted to read thus “Mekwunye Providence Ogechuk”. She tried to contact the Appellant in a bid to find out why her name was cut short but her effort proved abortive. She then instructed her counsel to write to the Appellant on the same issue.

Later, the Appellant contacted her and her father informing them that the Respondent’s name was cut short

because the registration platform/software was configured to admit only 25 letters and that the Respondent’s name was made up of 27 letters. By a letter dated 17th day of October, 2008, the Respondent through her counsel demanded that her name be rectified. In reply to the letter for amendment, the Appellant requested for the payment of a fee of N5,000 and some other requirements in order to effect the amendment. In compliance, the Respondent paid the fee, however the Appellant failed to correct the error. Hence, the Respondent as Claimant commenced this action through her next friend at the trial Court seeking the following reliefs:

“a. A declaration that the contract between the claimant and the defendant is binding on the parties and that the claimant is entitled to have her November/December 2008 WASSCE (Private) result released and Certificate made in her full names “Mekwunye Providence Ogechukwu”

b. A declaration that the rejection of the last two letters in “Ogechukwu” vide the defendant’s acknowledgement of registration thereby renaming the claimant as “Mekwunye Providence Ogechuk” was wrongful, strips the claimant of her identity,

the usefulness and essence of the said examination, thereby rendering the result and certificate in evidence thereof useless and the entire exercise worthless.

c. An order compelling the defendant to release the claimant’s result and issue her certificate on the name “Mekwunye Providence Ogechukwu? being the names with which she sat for the said November/December 2008 WASSCE (Private)

d. Damages for breach of contract in the sum of N10,000,000.?

The Appellant as Defendant on its own part denied liability in its Statement of defence. The Appellant subsequently filed a reply to the Defence. Evidence was led, after which the trial judge in its considered judgment entered for the Respondent as follows:

“1. The contract between the parties is binding on the parties and the Claimant is entitled to have her November/December 20008 West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (WASSCE) (Private) result released and certificate on the result made in her full names “Mekwunye Providence Ogechukwu”

2. the rejection of the last two letters in “Ogechukwu” vide the defendant’s acknowledgement of registration thereby renaming the

Claimant as “Mekwunye Providence Ogechuk” was wrongful, strips the Claimant of her identity, the usefulness and essence of the said examination, thereby rendering the result and certificate in evidence thereof useless and the entire exercise worthless.