By Jude-Ken Ojinnaka
A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has dismissed the application brought by Mic De Frank International Limited and Mr Francis Uzuegbu (1st and 2nd defendants) challenging the jurisdiction of the court to hear the suit No FHC/L/CS/429/23 filed against them by Ecobank Nigeria Limited and Eti Specialised Resolution Co. Limited (1st and 2nd plaintiffs).
In a ruling delivered by Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke on the application brought by the defendants through a Motion on Notice dated and filed on May 31, 2023, he cited the decision of the Supreme Court on the case of NDIC v. Okem Enterprises Ltd and held that going by that decision on banking matters between an individual customer and his bank, “It is now trite that this court has the jurisdiction to adjudicate on any dispute involving a banker and his customer”.
Consequently, the judge dismissed the Motion on Notice of the defendants dated and filed May 31, 2023 with N50,000 costs awarded against the defendants.
The defendants had in their Motion on Notice sought an Order of court striking out the suit and Orders already made in the suit against them for want of jurisdiction; And for such further or any other order as the court may make in the circumstances.
Their grounds for the application were that “the transactions giving rise to the instant suit are entirely between the plaintiffs and defendants as customer and his bank which falls out of the jurisdiction of this court “
“The claims of the plaintiffs are founded on simple contract which the Federal High Court has no jurisdiction to entertain “
Dwelling on the second leg of the ruling whereby the Plaintiff’s filed a Motion on Notice dated and filed on March 13, 2023, the court noted that the first three (3) orders sought in the reliefs A, B, and C of the plaintiffs’ application relate to the bankers listed in RE: 1 to 27 of the suit.
The court also noted that on June 26, 2023 and November 22,2023, about nine (9) banks in the list were discharged by the court and yet the names of these nine banks discharged are still included in the plaintiffs application dated March 13, 2023.
In his ruling, Justice Aneke said, “There is a need for the plaintiff to amend the names of those banks which have been discharged so as to avoid confusion before the court could determine the plaintiffs’ application”.
“Accordingly, this court will not consider the plaintiffs application dated and filed on 13th March, 2023”
“This is the ruling of this court ” the judge held.
One of the reliefs amongst others sought by the plaintiffs in their Motion on Notice is: “An interlocutory order of injunction restraining the 1st and 2nd defendants whether by themselves, agents, proxies, privies or any other person acting on their behalf from withdrawing, transfering, transacting and dealing in any manner howsoever with any money/funds in their accounts with the Banks listed above up to the sum of N522,589,719.27 pending the hearing and final determination of the subject suit”.
The subject suit is adjourned till April 23 for mention.