An Imo State High Court sitting in Owerri has ordered a commercial bank to pay N337,905,965 to its customer, Ifeco Communications Ltd., over excess charges deducted from the company’s account.
The ruling, delivered by Justice J. M. Njaka, awarded N327,905,965 as refunds for excess charges — including commission on turnover, legal fees and management fees — and an additional N10 million in damages.
The judgment followed a suit filed by Ifeco Communications Ltd. and Pretoria City Hotel and Resort Ltd. in case No. HOW/260/2016. The plaintiffs sought a declaration that Pretoria City Hotel and Resort Ltd. was indebted to the bank in the sum of N101,732,109.46, based on an audit report, and that excess deductions from Ifeco’s account should be refunded.
They also argued that deductions made from Ifeco’s account without its consent to offset alleged liabilities of the second plaintiff were unlawful and constituted a breach of trust.
Counsel to the plaintiffs, Ben Osaka, SAN, and Charles Agusiobo, urged the court to rely on audit reports prepared by Ambrose Ekoh and Co., which they said showed the extent of the excess charges.
However, defense counsel Tochukwu Maduka, SAN, and Chimeremeze Nwokoma contended that the audit reports were prepared unilaterally during the pendency of the suit and should be deemed inadmissible due to the bank’s non-involvement. They also argued that the plaintiffs had initially admitted indebtedness before changing their position.
In his judgment, Njaka held that the audit reports were “reliable, credible and consistent” with the evidence before the court.
The court found that the second plaintiff was indebted to the bank in the sum of N101,732,109.46, which reduced the excess charges owed to the first plaintiff to N327,905,965.
“The defendant is hereby ordered to pay the first plaintiff the sum of N327,905,965 for excess charges,” the judge said.
He added that the bank failed to provide sufficient and credible evidence to support its claims, noting that its reliance on disputed account statements without adequate oral evidence was “fatal” to its case.
The court consequently dismissed the bank’s counterclaim, describing it as unproven.
