With the leave of the trial Court, the Plaintiff, who is the Respondent in this appeal, filed a writ of summons on the undefended List against the Defendants. The Defendants are now the Appellants before this Court. They filed their Notice of Intention to Defend and attached to it an affidavit setting out the grounds of their defence.

1st Appellant is a Commercial Bank with its Head Office in Lagos. 2nd Appellant is a Manager with the Kaduna North Branch of the 1st Appellant. The Respondent is a business man resident in Funtua.

Sometimes in 1999 the Respondent was introduced to the 2nd Appellant in Kaduna for the purposes of purchase of fertilizers in commercial quantities. When the Plaintiff met the 2nd Defendant, the Plaintiff inquired from the 2nd Defendant if there were fertilizers for sale in commercial quantities and he said yes, but that the fertilizers were being sold by the 1st Defendant. The 2nd Defendant informed the Plaintiff that a truck load of fertilizers was sold at N600,000.00 (Six hundred thousand naira) i.e. N1,000.00 per bag.

The Plaintiff purchased a Bank draft from Funtua branch of the 1st Defendant for seven truck loads of fertilizers. The draft was made payable to the Kaduna North office of the 1st Defendant where the 2nd Defendant has an office. With further assurances from the 2nd Defendant to the Plaintiff that the 2nd Defendant was having fertilizers in large quantities to dispose of the Plaintiff purchased another Bank draft from Afribank Malumfashi branch, made payable to the 1st Defendant for another set of truck loads of fertilizers.

In all, the Plaintiff made payment in Bank drafts to the tune of N12,690,000.00 for the truck loads of fertilizers to the 1st Defendant on the instruction and directives of the 2nd Defendant.

When the Plaintiff went to the 2nd Defendant in order to evacuate his truck loads of fertilizers, the 2nd Defendant directed the Plaintiff to the warehouse/premises of a Company called BARMANI HOLDINGS COMPANY (NIG) LTD., in Kaduna. When the Plaintiff got to Barmani Holdings in his bid to evacuate his fertilizers, he was told that there was a price INCREMENT of N50.00 per bag, the Plaintiff conceded to pay the increment for the truck loads of the fertilizers despite his initial protest and reluctance.

The Plaintiff, at a later date, started the evacuation of the truck loads of fertilizers and on evacuating the 9th truck load of fertilizers at BARMANI HOLDINGS, the Plaintiff was informed that there were no more fertilizers to evacuate.

At the time of evacuating the 9th truck load of fertilizers the Plaintiff's outstanding balance was N6,960,000.00, hence, the Plaintiff went back to the 2nd Defendant to demand a refund of the said balance. On this demand the Plaintiff was paid the sum of N5 million, leaving a balance of N1,960,000.00.

On several occasions when the Plaintiff visited the 2nd Defendant to ask for the payment of his money, the Plaintiff only succeeded in getting an undertaking to pay from the 2nd Defendant.

In 1999, the 2nd Defendant wrote a memo, reminding the 1st Defendant of the Plaintiff's balance yet unpaid. Nothing was forthcoming from the Defendants. The Plaintiff averred that the Defendants have no defence to his claim.

In their supporting affidavit of NOTICE OF INTENTION to Defend the action, the Defendants denied paragraphs 7-24 of the Plaintiff's affidavit in support of the writ of summons. The Plaintiff was informed by the 2nd Defendant that the remaining stock of fertilizers had been sold to BARMANI HOLDINGS LTD and that the Plaintiff was advised by the 2nd Defendant to contact BARMANI HOLDINGS LTD, if he wished to buy fertilizer. The Defendants averred further that the Plaintiff bought some Bank drafts in the sum of N4.2 million and N7.8 million, payable to BARMANI HOLDINGS LTD for the purchase of 20 trucks of solar urea fertilizer. The Plaintiff collected only 9 truck loads of fertilizers from BARMANI HOLDING LTD and BARMANI HOLDINGS LTD refunded to the Plaintiff the sum of N5 million in respect of 11 truck loads of fertilizers which were not supplied to the Plaintiff. The Defendants claimed that they were not responsible for this balance but BARMANI HOLDINGS LTD, since the Defendants were never part of the transactions between the Plaintiff and BARMANI HOLDINGS LTD. The Defendants, they claimed, only acted as Bankers to both the Plaintiff and BARMANI HOLDINGS LTD and it ought to account for that balance of payment due to the Plaintiff. The Defendants denied ever making any undertaking to pay the Plaintiff.

After considering the arguments of learned Counsel for the respective parties and the affidavit evidence and documents tendered in evidence before him, the learned trial Judge found that there was no defence on the merit made by the Defendants. He accordingly entered judgment against the Defendants and in favour of the Plaintiff.

The Defendants were dissatisfied with the trial Court's judgment and they appealed to the Court below. The Court below affirmed the decision of the trial Court. Dissatisfied further, the Defendants appealed to this Court