ILORIN-BASED FEMALE LEGAL PRACTITIONER, RONKE ADEYEMI GETS N5m DAMAGES AGAINST UBA FOR UNLAWFULLY DISHONOURING HER CHEQUE.
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An Ilorin-based female Legal Practitioner Mrs. Oluronke Adeyemi has been awarded the sum of Five Million Naira by the Kwara State High Court, sitting in Ilorin, against United Bank for Africa PLC, for the Bank’s lack of due diligence and failure to honour her cheque.
In the copy of judgment made available to our correspondent, the judge stated in the judgment that, despite the fact that the bank was fully aware of its lack of due diligence in handling the cheque of the Claimant, the bank still elected to pursue the suit spanning seven years over choosing an amicable settlement thereby occassioning the award of the sum of N5m damages against the bank.
Fact of the case.
The Claimant’s case was that she issued a cheque of N50,000 to a Cooperative Society which was surprisingly returned unpaid and marked DAR despite the fact that she had above a million naira in her account at that date thereby causing her some embarrassment.
The Claimant wrote letters to the bank requesting for an explanation which the bank ignored and she thereafter instituted the action in the High Court in 2015.
During trial the bank initially maintained that the Claimant had no sufficient money in her account and at some point later admitted that the account number of the Claimant was mistaken for that of another customer of the bank who had no money in his account.
Delivering judgment in the case, the trial judge agreed with the counsel to the Claimant, Mr. John Mayokun Dada that, the Claimant being a Legal Practitioner of about 30yrs in practice has a duty to protect her integrity which the careless action of the bank has dragged in the mud.
Hence, the court awarded the sum of N5m as damages and an additional sum of N250,000 as costs to the Claimant against the bank.
In addition, the bank was directed to immediately write and send a letter of apology to the Claimant and copy to the Cooperative Society for embarrassment caused to the Claimant when the Defendant unlawfully or negligently returned the cheque of the claimant unpaid for no just cause.
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