Judgment
HABEEB ADEWALE OLUMUYIWA ABIRU, J.C.A. (Delivering the Leading Judgment): This appeal is against the judgment of the High Court of Kano State delivered in Suit No K/358/2016 by Honorable Justice Nasiru Saminu on the 16th of September, 2016.
The Respondent was the claimant in the lower Court and his claim was for the sum of $122,214.5833 (One Hundred and Twenty Two Thousand, Two Hundred and Fourteen US Dollars, Five Thousand Eight Hundred and Thirty Three Cents) being the amount due for textile materials supplied by the Respondent to the Appellant and which sum the Appellant failed, refused and neglected to pay despite repeated demands. The case of the Respondent against the Appellant in support of the claims was that it entered into an arrangement with the Appellant and his partner called Rabiu, under the trade name AlMustapha Salisu Ventures, of supplying textile materials to them on credit and to sell and thereafter remit the payment for the goods and that it was agreed that the remittance would be in US Dollars.
It was its case that it supplied the textile materials as agreed for some years and that a reconciliation of accounts showed that the Appellant and his partner were in arrears of making the remittances in the sum of USD300,758.5833 as at July 2015. It was the case of the Respondent that the Appellant and his partner had a meeting between themselves to determine and apportion the sum owed by each of them individually out of the outstanding sum and that at the end of the meeting, they made known to it in writing that the sum due from the Appellant personally was USD122,214.5833.
It was its case that the Appellant admitted in writing via a letter written by his Counsel that he was indeed owing the said sum of USD122,214.5833 and that the Appellant was referred to as “Ali” in the correspondences.
It was its case that the partner of the Appellant, Rabiu, settled the portion of the indebtedness apportioned to him while the Appellant failed, neglected and refused to pay up the admitted indebted sum despite repeated demands. The writ of summons and the statement of claim were accompanied by the list of witnesses, written deposition of witnesses on oath and copies of the documents to be relied upon at trial.
