Mohammed Haruna Yusuf
31 October 2008
An Abuja high court sitting in Gudu presided over by Justice (Mrs) A. A Banjoko, has fixed November 10 and 11 to commence hearing into an N8m suit instituted against a mortgage bank, Intercontinental Homes Savings and Loans Limited, by an Abuja based property development company, Messrs Philkruz W/A Nigeria limited.
The court arrived at the two dates following an agreement by counsel to the bank, Mr. Chima Francis and counsel to the sueing company, Mr. Ridwan A. Sadiq, when her Lordship agreed to an adjournment following the heavy schedule of duty before her when the case was mentioned. The court is set to determine whether the mortgage bank, "under the guise of assisting beneficiaries who bought property from the plaintiff through the bank, transfer title to benefiaries, by unlawfully deducting the total sum of N8m from the plaintiff's account with the bank.
In an amended 15 paragraph statement of claim, Philkruz W/A Nigeria Limited avers in paragraph 4 that in line with the Federal Government of Nigeria's National Housing Policy, agreed to sell an estate in Kubwa, Abuja, described as Philip Mbagwu's estate comprising 20 units of houses to some beneficiaries of the Federal Mortgage Bank mortgage facility at a unit price of N2.5m and N2.9m respectively. According to the company, to effect the said sale of the estate to these beneficiaries, it opened and operated an account with the mortgage bank and that upon the completion of the sales transaction, the beneficiaries paid in an initial 10% of the total sum of the purchase price for their various units of houses, while the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria, under the National Housing policy, paid the remaining balance of the total purchase price for the houses through the defendant, the primary mortgage institution for each and every beneficiary. Meanwhile, the company in paragraph 7 of the amended statement of claim, also avers that the beneficiaries authorised and instructed the mortgage bank to pay to the developer, the balance of the purchase price of the houses in their custody. However, the mortgage bank, sometimes in February 2007, unlawfully deducted N8m from the company's account with it.
The developer argued that it is in line with this usual and normal practice that the bank themselves included payment for the perfection of title documents in the offer of the mortgage loan issued to the beneficiaries, adding that it thereafter took several steps to make the bank remit the money into its account but despite several appeals and demand, the bank failed, refused, neglected and or omitted to make this refund, hence the institution of the case.
Consequently, the company is claiming from the bank, the following, and the immediate refund of the sum of N8m unlawfully deducted from the plaintiff's account allegedly used to facilitate the transfer of titles to beneficiaries of the sale of houses transaction between the plaintiff, the federal mortgage bank and the twenty beneficiaries of the sale. Twenty percent interest of the total sum of N8m as prejudgment sum from the date the deductions were made till when judgment is entered in favour of the plaintiff. It also claims ten percent interest on the judgment sum until it is liquidated. It also demanded general damages in the sum of N2m only occasioned by the defendant's conduct which has resulted in the plaintiff being denied the use of its funds in running her business and tying same down.
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