Before Their Lordships:
ANDREWS OTUTU OBASEKI,JUSTICE, SUPREME COURT
ADOLPHUS GODWIN KARIBI-WHYTE,JUSTICE, SUPREME COURT
SAIDU KAWU JUSTICE, SUPREME COURT
SALIHU MODIBBO ALFA BELGORE JUSTICE, SUPREME COURT
ABUBAKAR BASHIR WALI JUSTICE, SUPREME COURT
Between
HIGHGRADE MARITIME SERVICES LTD Appellant
And
FIRST BANK OF NIGERIA LTD Respondent
FACT
On 10th of August, 1983 the respondent opened a current account with the appellant with a sum of N400.00. On 11th August, 1983 the respondent deposited a -First Bank of Nigeria cheque Ikeja Branch for the sum of N1,568,946.35 into its current account at the appellant’s Airport Branch Port Harcourt. The cheque was said to have been drawn by Parkinson Nigeria Limited on the Ikeja Branch of the First Bank of Nigeria limited. The respondent’s account was credited with that amount the same day but as it is usual in banking practice, the respondent’s account was debited with the same amount because the amount was very heavy. The cheque was then sent to Ikeja for collection. This was to ascertain whether the cheque was a genuine cheque or not. The response from Ikeja that payment had been effected was sent in an unusual way of a mere paper transaction, whereas the usual practice whenever an amount was over N2,000.00 was that the message conveying payment would be by coded telegram. Because of the unusual manner in which the Ikeja Branch advised payment, the appellant suspected fraud and they sent a telegram to the Ikeja Branch for confirmation whether Exhibits 12 and 12A which conveyed that the cheque had been cleared originated from them. They also sent a letter and Ikeja Branch replied by Exhibit 13 on October 12, 1983 that Exhibits 12 and 12A were not from them and that the signature on them was forged.
The appellant also wrote to verify whether Parkinson Nigeria Limited, the company alleged to have been the drawer of the cheque had an account with the Ikeja Branch of the First Bank of Nigeria Limited, the Ikeja Branch replied by Exhibit 14 that there was no such account.
After these enquiries when Benedict Ume, who testified as the Managing Director of the respondent came with a cheque to withdraw N63,000.00 from the account, the appellant invited the Police and he was arrested. At the time of his arrest he had N19.50 to his credit having earlier withdrawn N80.00 on the 16th August, 1983.
