UNITED BANK FOR AFRICA PLC v. GBADEYAN (RTD) & ORS

MOJEED ADEKUNLE OWOADE, J.C.A. (Delivering the Leading Judgment): This is an Appeal against the decision/Ruling of Hon. Justice I. B. GARBA of the High Court of Kwara State delivered in ILORIN on the 3rd November, 2016.

By a Writ of Summons and Statement of Claim filed on 22/01/2014, the 1st and 2nd Respondents as Claimants claimed from the Appellant and 3rd Respondent as Defendants as follows:-
I. A MANDATORY ORDER of the Court directing the 1st Defendant to pay the Claimants the sum of N1.4 Million (One Million, Four Hundred Thousand Naira) being the principal amount fraudulently withdrawn from the 1st Claimant’s Account by the 2nd Defendant, Mr. Seun Akanni an employee of the 1st Defendant at UBA Oja-Oba Branch, Ilorin.
II. 25% interest on the said N1.4 Million (One Million, Four Hundred Thousand Naira) with effect from the 1st day of March, 2012 up till Judgment date, and 10% on the Judgment sum until full liquidation.
III. N20,000,000.00 (Twenty Million Naira) general damages for breach of contract, loss of revenue occasioned by the defendants??? action, distress and embarrassment caused to the Claimants by the defendants, particularly the 1st Claimant given his standing in the society.
Pleadings were filed and exchanged by the parties.

The case of the 1st and 2nd Respondents as Claimants is that the 1st and 2nd Respondents operate two separate Accounts with the Appellant’s in its Branch Office at Oja-Oba, Ilorin.
The 1st Respondent is a retired High Court Judge and operates a personal Account with the name, Gbadeyan Joseph Fola with Account Number: 1001456151 and also 2nd Respondent operates a Company’s Account in the name of Korede Integrated Ventures Limited with Number: 1015847048. The 1st Respondent is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of 2nd Respondent.
The 1st Respondent had in his personal account a total sum of (Twelve Million, Nine Hundred and Fifty – Two Naira, Seventy – Seven Kobo) (N12,952,422.77K) as at 2nd of February, 2012. He instructed the bank to transfer and deposit the sum of N12.9M (Twelve Million, Nine Hundred Thousand Naira) to his Company’s account, (Korede Integrated Ventures Ltd) by three separate cheques issued out by him dated 3rd February, 2012 for the sums of N5M (Five Million Naira), and N2.9M (Two Million, Nine Hundred Thousand Naira) with cheques numbers 32471251, 32471252 and 32471253 respectively.
The Respondents were astonished to know later that whilst the sum of N12.9Milllion was debited to the 1st Respondent’s personal account vide the aforesaid three cheques, the company’s account (2nd Respondent) was credited with the sum of N11.5Million, leaving a deficit of N1.4million unpaid into the account. The 1st Respondent is aware that it was the 3rd Respondent, Mr. Seun Akanni (employee of the – Appellant), who is the Bank’s Account Officer attached to the Respondents’ accounts that effected the said transfer.
The 1st Respondent was shocked by this fraudulent act and immediately complained in writing to the Bank’s Branch Manager who thereafter visited the 1st Respondent in his office in company of another officer of the bank and after a meeting with him, promised to regularize/rectify the company’s account in the sum of N12.9 Million as debited from his personal account.
When in June 2012 nothing was heard from Appellant and 2nd Respondent’s Account was not credited in the deficit/stolen sum of N1.4 Million, the Respondents instructed their solicitors to write 1st Appellant and also reported the matter to the police. Thus, through police investigation, it became known that the 3rd Respondent who is the officer officially assigned by the Appellant as the account officer for the said two accounts fraudulently stole the N1.4 Million from 2nd Respondent’s account by paying N11.5 Million instead of N12.9 Million. The 3rd Respondent who confessed to the police of stealing the N1.4 Million from 2nd Respondent’s account while effecting the transfer in the course of his official duty with Appellant was later charged to Court via FIR.
All promises made to the Respondents by the Appellant to pay the N1.4 Million have not been fulfilled up till now thereby causing loss of revenue in the Respondent’s business, embarrassment and emotional discomfort. The action is brought against the Appellant and the 2nd Respondent after the Appellant failed to fulfill its promise to the Respondents.
The Appellant as 1st Defendant on the other hand pleaded that the 1st Respondent has not shown that it complied with the procedure of transferring money from the Account of the 1st Respondent to the 3rd Respondent. That the 1st Respondent personally made a cash withdrawal of the sum of N12,900,000.00 (Twelve Million, Nine Hundred Thousand Naira) from his Account and never officially transferred or applied to the Appellant to transfer the said sum of money.