OKAFOR v. ABUMOFUANI

“1. N125,000.00k being agency commission due to the plaintiff as remuneration for procuring a buyer of the defendant’s landed property.
2. Interest on the aforesaid amount at the rate of 21% per annum until the date of the judgment and 5% per annum on the judgment debt.
3. N100,000.00k and N200,000.00k as special and general damages respectively for the humiliation suffered by the plaintiff by virtue of his arrest, detention and molestation by the police as a result of malicious and false report alleging criminal conduct against the plaintiff which cannot be substantiated”.
The facts which gave rise to the above mentioned claims in the suit filed before the trial Court by the plaintiff (now respondent) against the defendant (appellant) are briefly summarised as below. As could be gleaned from the Record of appeal, the defendant, who is the present appellant had entered into an agreement with the plaintiff (now respondent) for the plaintiff to secure somebody to purchase his landed property situate at No.5, Igwesi Close in Trans Ikulu Qtrs of Enugu town in Enugu State on an agreed commission to be paid by the appellant to the respondent. The respondent, in the light of the agreement, struggled and secured a buyer of the said landed property in person of one Dan Obele who agreed to buy the land at a cost of Two Million, Five Hundred Thousand Naira only (N2,500,000.00). The purchase price was paid through the respondent herein, who acted as an agent for both the appellant and the purchaser of the said landed property. However, before the property was paid for, it was discovered that the property was not free from encumbrances, because the same property was earlier used as collateral for a loan applied for and collected by the appellant at the Nigerian Agricultural Bank.
That notwithstanding, the buyer Dan Obele agreed and did pay the outstanding bank loan owed by the appellant to the Nigerian Agricultural Bank in settlement of the bank loan and thereafter, the balance of the sum of One Million, Eight Hundred and Seventy Thousand Naira (N1,870,000.00) was paid to the appellant. All these payments were made through the respondent herein, in the presence of the appellant’s representative one Goerge Okonkwo who negotiated on behalf of his principal the appellant, and who incidentally was also the appellant’s in-law.
At the end of the transaction, the appellant refused or failed to honour his agreement with the respondent by paying him the commission of N125,000.00 as earlier agreed upon which represents 5% of the purchase price, despite repeated demands by the latter. Instead, the appellant resorted to the use of acts of harassment, and intimidation against the respondent which culminated into lodging complaint to the police against the respondent leading to the arrest and detention of the latter, all aimed at suppressing and frustrating and scaring him and discouraging the respondent from pursuing his legitimate claims of the agreed commission due to him from the appellant.
When it became apparent, that the appellant was not ready to pay him his entitlement, the respondent took the last option by seeking redress in Court and filed Writ of Summons against the appellant at the trial Court and made the claims or reliefs earlier adumbrated in the fore paragraphs of this judgment. Upon being served with the Writ of summons and the Amended statement of Claim by substituted means, the appellant as defendant at the trial Court, refused or failed to enter appearance. The plaintiff now respondent thereupon moved the trial Court by filing a motion praying it to enter Summary/Default judgment in his favour. The trial Court consequently entered judgment in part in favour of the plaintiff/respondent against the defendant now appellant on the first and second claims/reliefs and adjourned the third claim/relief which relates to special and general damages. Piqued by the partial judgment delivered against him, the appellant/defendant filed a motion on notice at the trial Court praying it to set aside the Default judgment vide a motion dated 24/1/2000.The said motion was heard. The trial Court in the end, refused to set aside its default judgment, but it however granted the appellant extension of time to file his statement of defence on the third claim contained in the plaintiff’s/respondent’s Amended Statement of claim. At the conclusion of the case, the trial Court awarded to the respondent a sum of N35,000.00 as general damages against the defendant/appellant.
The present appellant became dissatisfied with the decision of the trial Court, hence he appealed to the Court of Appeal (hereinafter referred to as “the lower Court”). After hearing the appeal, the lower Court dismissed same and affirmed the decision of the trial Court. In its considered judgment dated 31/5/2005 the lower Court at page 186 of the Record of Appeal held as follows, per Adekeye JCA (as she then was).
“The trial Court was right in holding that the respondent is entitled to general damages. This Court finds the

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