Judgment
BALKISU BELLO ALIYU, J.C.A. (Delivering the Leading Judgment): This appeal is against the judgment of the High Court of Cross River State, holden at Calabar (trial Court) delivered on the 19th March 2020 in suit No: HC/62/2019. The suit was commenced by the Appellant as the Claimant vide his writ of summons accompanied with a statement of claim wherein he claimed the following orders against the Respondents: a. A declaration that there is a valid and subsisting contract between the claimant and the 1st defendant which has been breached by the 1st defendant. b. A declaration that Mr.
James Sunday Inyang and Mr. Freedom Emmanuel Udofia are agents of the 1st defendant. c. An order for refund of N4,700,000.00 (Four Million, seven hundred thousand Naira) being the outstanding sum unpaid. d. N100,000,000.00 (One hundred million Naira) general damages. e. N50,000,000.00 (Fifty million Naira) special damages for loss of earnings, time lost and psychological trauma suffered by the Claimant as a result of the loss of his money and comatose in his business. f. Cost of litigation in the sum of N1,000,000.00 (One million Naira) only.
The facts of the case as stated by the Appellant are that, sometimes in October 2016, he entered into a contract for the supply of 1,200 jumbo packs of baby diapers to the Appellant at the cost of N10,250,000, which the Appellant paid the Respondents in installments, through their warehouse officer Mr. James Sunday Inyang. He was not supplied with the goods he paid for and upon inquiry, the officers of the Respondents informed him that there was robbery incidence in their premises in which cash of the company was carted away including the part payment he made for the products.
The Respondents informed him that since he did not make his payment directly into the 1st Respondent’s company bank account, but indirectly through its warehouse officer (Mr. James Sunday Inyang), the 1st Respondent was not liable to refund his money. However, he received the supply of the diapers for the sums of money that the Respondents said was not stolen in the robbery incident, leaving a balance of goods worth N4.7million, which the Respondents refused to supply to him.
