CaseLaw
F.A.T.B V. Partnership Inv. Co (2004) CLR 1(e) (SC)
Judgement delivered on December 12th 2003
Brief
Facts
At the trial, the case for the Respondent as given by the only witness called appears to be that one Alhaji Abubakar brought a bank draft N7.1 million which was part-payment of an amount owed by him to the Respondent. Following the presentation of the cheque for payment to the Appellant, claimed by the Respondent to be its bankers, the bank draft No.013922 dated 8-2-1995 was returned and that it should be re-presented. The Respondent duly re-presented the bank draft Ex P.1 at a future date. When it was so re-presented to the Appellant, it was returned unpaid with this remark: “value not received”. As since the bank draft has remained unpaid, the Respondent commenced this action. Under cross-examination, the witness said about Alhaji Abubakar who gave the bank draft to the Respondent as follows, and I quote:-
For the Appellant, evidence was given by its first witness inter alia, that the Respondent is not a customer of the Appellant. That apart from the bank draft Ex.P.1, the Appellant had no relationship whatsoever with the Respondent. He said that around 8th February 1995, one Alhaji Tijani Ladan came with Alhaji Abubakar of Damco Bureau De Change to the Appellant where they had a meeting with the officials of the Appellant. During that meeting the visitors offered to sell on the autonomous market a sum of $500,000.00. As the representatives of the Appellant became interested in the offer, it was agreed with the offerers that the said sum would be bought by the Appellant for the sum of N15,000,000.00 (fifteen million Naira). At the request of Alhaji Tijani, the Appellant also agreed that it would issue two cheques (bank drafts) for the sum of N15,000,000.00 as follows:-
The witness further added that it was a term of the agreement that the two bank drafts to be issued by the Appellant would not be presented for payment until the sum of $500,000.00 has been transferred and received into the foreign account of the Appellant bank. The Appellant was however surprised that the relevant bank draft in this case for N7.1 million (Naira) was presented for payment before the $500,000.00 (Dollars) was paid into the foreign account of the Appellant. As this action was contrary to the agreement reached between the Appellant and Alhaji Ladan, the bank draft was not paid. It was returned and marked “Represent”. The other bank draft for N7.9 million was similarly treated. Despite that treatment of the cheques, the sum of $500,000.00 (dollars) that was promised by the offerers namely, Alhaji Abubakar and Alhaji Ladan remained unpaid into the account of the Appellant. The bank draft N7.1 million Naira relevant to this case had to be stopped by the Appellant to prevent a fraud on itself. The Appellant subsequently explained to the Managing Director of the Respondent its reason for stopping the bank draft, Ex. P.1.
The evidence of the second witness for the Appellant, one Rufus Adeosun, who described himself as a banker and in the employment of the Appellant, confirmed the transaction as stated by the first witness, a Mrs. Solomon Osita Mbamalu, a Legal practitioner and the Legal adviser of the Appellant. Following addresses at the close of the oral evidence given by the parties, the Learned Trial Judge delivered a considered judgment. By the said judgment, the Respondent was awarded judgment in terms of its claim. Accordingly, the Respondent was awarded its claim for the sum of N7,100,000.00 being the value of the bank draft issued by the Appellant in favour of the Respondent with interest at the rate of 21% per annum from the 8th of February 1995 until the date of the judgment, and thereafter at the rate of 10% per annum until the judgment debt is fully paid.
Being dissatisfied with the judgment of the trial Court, the Appellant appealed to the Court of Appeal (Lagos Division). In that Court, the Appellant was also unsuccessful and has therefore appealed further to the Supreme Court.