RAPHAEL EDE writes on whether fraudulent and spurious charges amounting to over N2 million by Ishiagu Microfinance Bank (Nig) Ltd carried out against one of its customers can at any point be said to be ‘statute barred’ from complaints or seeking redress.
When has it become a crime to open an account with microfinance bank? This and more are questions Pastor Godwin Egu, a businessman living in Abakaliki, Ebonyi state, but doing business in Ishiagu in Ivo council area of the state to sustain his family has been asking. The clergyman has being fighting to recover over N2, 003,125 million spuriously and fraudulently withdrawn from his Account Nos. 1071 and 1218 by the said bank without explanations or did he authorize the fraudulent withdrawal.
It was gathered that several letters to the bank requesting a refund of the withdrawal from the accounts failed as the bank instead told the customer that his complaint is statute barred as he can no longer ask for a refund since he didn’t make the complaint after 15 days from the time the said withdrawal was made against his account.
According to the Auditor of the bank, one Onovo Michael Ogbonna, in his affidavit stated that “the entries in the defendant’s (Godwin Egu) banker’s book are made as: entries in blue or black representing credit while entries in red are debits. The plaintiff has 15 days after receipt of each statement of account to notify the defendant respecting any disagreement with entries therein failing which the entries will be regarded as correct. He never took advantage of this very important clause of the contractual relationship between banker and customer.”
In the bank document our correspondent obtained, it is observed that the bank had on 12th March 2009, charged and debited her customers’ account for; feeding allowance of driver, feeding allowance of staff on duty, stationary used by the bank and on 12th August, 2009 debited N30,000 for management fee and handling charge of N10,000.
On 10th June, 2010 the bank debited Egu’s account for fueling police vehicle. The bank finding that there is money in the customer’s account, went on to deduct monthly interest from N28,767.00 in February, 2009; N31,849 in March; N30,821 in April; N31,849 in May; N30,821 in June; N38,219 in July; N15,616 in August; N24,657 in September; N28,479 in October; N49,852 in November; N53,324 in December; N54,685 was debited as interest in January, 2010. N54,267 in February; N57,457 in March; N57,022 in April; N60,376 in May and N59,963 in June.
Upon this spurious charges and interest that Pastor Egu instituted suit in High Court in Ivo division of Ebonyi State High Court holden at Isiaka in suit no. HSK/12/2014 against the Ishiagu Microfinance Bank (Nig) Ltd to refund him the sum total of N2,003,125.00 being the difference between deposits and withdrawals in account Nos. 1071 and 1218.
Pastor Egu (Plaintiff) through his counsel B. C. Oguine Esq in a 21 paragraph of statement of claim filed on 24th April, 2014, he claimed against the Bank (Defendant) in the suit; “a declaration of court that parties are bound by terms and conditions of their contract.
“An order of Court directing the defendant to refund the plaintiff the sum of N2,003,125 which the defendant unlawfully withdrew through its various withdrawals from his two accounts,
“An order of Court directing the defendant to clean off all unlawful spurious withdrawals from his account. The sum of N2,003,125.00 being penalty for default to refund this sum within two weeks of request by the plaintiff for same as allowed by the CBN and 21% monthly interest on the total judgment debt from the month of October, 2009 till the judgment sum is paid.”
The defendant (Ishiagu Microfinance Bank (Nig) Ltd) in its response to the suit; filed a written deposition and amended written deposition on oath through its Auditor; Onovo Michael Ogbonna and filed on 9th March, 2016, did not deny the debits and charges carried out on the plaintiff accounts, but however stated that by the 29th January, 2009 when the plaintiff drew down the overdraft facility, and overdrew his account the defendant commenced the implementation of the terms of the facility including COT charges.
“The bank charges are of compound interest in nature. Banking transactions have never been simplistic in the nature of deposits and withdrawals and no more. The defendant as a Community Bank is in business and therefore entitled to make the charges agreed to between her and the plaintiff”, he submitted.
Responding to the alleged payment of N1.5 milion overdraft to the plaintiff, the plaintiff denied receiving the said overdraft as there was no such amount (N1.5million) credited to his account. “In all the statement of account provided by the bank there was no place the said N1.5 million was credited to the plaintiff account” our correspondent observed.
The plaintiff (Pastor Egu) told the court that he abounded the request for credit from the bank when the chairman of the bank asked for gratification of 20% of the N1.5 million requested which he refused and the process stopped.
However, the presiding judge, Justice I.P. Chima, on 20th of September, 2016 ruled that the plaintiff (Pastor Egu) should pay the defendant (Bank) the sum of N2,671,302.00.
According to his ruling: “In the light of the evidence of the Dw1, Exhibits H, J, K, K1, l, l1, l2, l3, M and N and all the above stated, it is the firm view of this court that the defendant’s case is meritorious and ought to succeed and bear fruit. It hereby does. The defendant is therefore entitled to the relief sought in its counter claim as it proved its case on the balance of probabilities as required by law.”
“Accordingly, it is hereby ordered as follows: “That the plaintiff is hereby ordered to pay to the defendant the sum of N2,671,302.00 as at 29/07/2011 being balance outstanding against the plaintiff in his account No. 1218 with the defendant from an overdraft facility granted the plaintiff by the defendant.
“I make no order as to cost”, the judgment reads in part.
Pastor Egu has gone an Appeal Court to challenge the decision of the lower court.
In a notice of appeal made available to our correspondent, Godwin Egu is appealing against the decision of the court awarding judgment of to the tune of N2,671,302.00 against him.
According to him, the learned trial judge erred in law in awarding the sum of N2,671,302.00 to the defendant when it never sought any relief from the court. In his facts of error; “the defendant filed an amended statement of defence on 29th July, 2015. In the amended statement of defence, the defendant never sought for any relief from the court for any sum including N2,671,302.
“The sole witness of the defendant Mr. Onovo Michael Ogbonna, gave evidence via his written deposition deposed on the 9th of March, 2016 adopted on the 16th of May. In his written deposition there is no line, paragraph or page where he mentioned the word counterclaim not to talk of stating any relief sought from the court”.
Pastor Egu is now at the mercy of the Appeal Court to recover his money fraudulently withdrawn from his account by his Bank.
