The Plaintiff put in a claim for a liquidated sum of money as freight charges, special and general damages for breach of contract. The Defendant cross claimed for rectifica¬tion of a contract agreement on which the plaintiff based his claim.

Plaintiff stated that he signed the contract agreement after the defendant company's representative had read and explained it to him and that he agreed then on a freight charges of l/2d per Ib per mile for carriage of tobacco leaves from Oyo to Ibadan, a distance of 34 miles.

There was no evidence led that the agreement was ever read or explained to him by a representative of the defendant company.

With regard to the freight charge, the plaintiff in his evidence in chief said that he read the freight charge in the contract Exhibit A at l/2d per Ib per mile and signed it.

The Plaintiff admitted being in transport business since 1958. He had always engaged in passenger transport business. His first attempt at "goods" transport was with the defendant company. At no stage in his evidence did he say that he ever agreed on a specific freight charge. He placed reliance on Adebisi's opi¬nion that the venture would be a profitable one.

On the other hand, the defendant company's representative on whom the plaintiff placed great reliance, one Mr. Adebisi, gave evidence for the defence. He stated in great detail how the plaintiff, whom he had known since 1965 approached him for offer of employment as one of defendant's tobacco teat carriers and that he explained to him that the freight charge was 1/2d per 100 lbs per mile, which the Plaintiff accepted orally. He also gave evidence as to how a typist was instructed to prepare 8 Carrier's Agreement forms on the basis of the established form of contract for carriers. The typist however made an error in typing in the schedule "1/2d lb per mite instead of the established freight of 1/2d per 100 lbs per mile.

When the mistake was discovered all the 7 other transport contractors surrendered their carrier's agreements which were corrected but the plaintiff insisted on being paid £1,894.10 by Adebisi as a condition precedent to Ex. A being corrected. The defendant company called three other transport contractors, who had been employed since 1955, and who confirmed that the established freight charge was 1/2d per 100 lbs per mile. The learned trial Judge adopted a wrong approach, as conceded by Plaintiff's Counsel before us. In rejecting Adebisi's evidence out of hand Just because he was an employee of the defendant company. He even failed to consider the evidence of the other witnesses called for the defence.

The defendant company in the cross action applied for a rectification of the contract.

The trial judge entered judgment for the plaintiff and dismissed the claim.

The Western State Court of Appeal reversed the judgment of the lower court. The appellant further appealed to the Supreme Court.