IN
THE NATIONAL INDUSTRIAL COURT OF NIGERIA
IN THE LAGOS JUDICIAL DIVISION
HOLDEN AT LAGOS
SUIT
NO NICN/LA/531/2020
BEFORE HIS LORDSHIP,
HON. JUSTICE (DR.) 1. J. ESSIEN
DATE: 12th March 2026
BETWEEN
MRS
HOLDINGS LIMITED
Claimant
MRS
OIL AND GAS COMPANY LIMITED
AND
MR.
CHRISTOPHER OKECHUKWU OKORIE
Defendant
JUDGMENT
The claimant filed a complaint dated and
filed on the 11/12/2020. In the complaint the claimants seek amongst other
reliefs for an order directing the defendant to immediately pay to the
Claimants, the sum of N176,889,080.61 (One Hundred and Seventy Six Million
Eight Hundred and Eighty Nine Thousand Eight Hundred and Eighty Naira Sixty One
Kobo), or in the alternative, any amount adjudged by this Honourable Court to
be outstanding, due and payable by the defendant on the staff loan granted to
the defendant while in the employment of the claimants.
During the pendency of the suit, the
claimant filed a motion pursuant to Order 16 Rule 1 of the National Industrial
Court Civil Procedure Rules 2017 seeking summary judgment. The Claimant motion
is dated the 24/11/2023 but filed on the 27/11/2023.The motion seeks the
following order:
(1)AN
ORDER entering summary judgment against the Respondent in favour of the
Applicants in the sum of N70,400,000.00 (Seventy Million, Four Hundred Thousand
Naira) being the overdue and outstanding
instalments as of 23 November, 2023 in
respect of the staff loan granted by the claimants to the defendant for the
purchase of a five bedroom fully detached duplex with two boys quarters and
swimming pool known, addressed and situate at No.33A, African Lane, off
Admiralty Way, Lekki Phase 1, Lagos
(2)AND
for such further or other Order(s) as the Honourable Court may deem fit to make
in the circumstances.
The application is predicated on 5
grounds which are reproduced below:
1.
The respondent is a former employee of
the 1st Applicant, who was engaged as Group Executive Director Sales
& Marketing via a Contract of Employment (‘CoE’) dated 3rd December
2018, The respondent was in the services of the applicants from 3 December 2018
to 23 April 2020, when his employment was terminated in accordance with the contract
of employment vide an email dated 23 April 2020.
2.
During the subsistence of his
employment, the 1st Applicant granted a staff loan to the Respondent
in a total sum of N192, 000, 000 (One Hundred and Ninety Two Million Naira) for
the purchase of a five bedroom fully detached duplex with two boys quarters and
swimming pool known, addressed and situate at No.33A, African Lane, Off
Admiralty Way, Lekki Phase 1, Lagos on the condition that the original deeds
relating to the property shall be held by the 1st Applicant as
security for the staff loan until the staff loan is repaid in full.
3.
The respondent was required to repay the
loan sum by monthly instalments of 48,200,000 (of which N1,083,684.53 was to be
deducted from the Respondent’s salaries and the balance was to be paid from
earnings from other sources) within a 5-year period commencing from December 2018
and terminating on 14 November 2023. Based on the amortization schedule of the
loan, the total annual instalment repayments to be made by the Respondent was N38,400,000.00
(Thirty-Eight Million Four Hundred Thousand Naira) yearly which if faithfully
adhered to would have seen the indebtedness liquidated in November 2023.
4.
Between December 2018 to January 2022
the respondent was obligated to pay total monthly instalments of N121,600,000
out of which the respondent repaid a total of N22,611,619.39 leaving a total
outstanding sum of AI98,988,380.61 – and by virtue of a ruling of this
Honourable Court delivered on 14 June, 2022. By His Lordship, Hon. Justice S.H.
Danjidda, summary judgment was entered in favour of the Claimants for the sum
of N98,988,380.61 being the amount due and outstanding in respect of the staff
loan, as at January, 2022. The respondent has failed to liquidate the due loan
sum in line with the ruling of this Honourable Court.
5.
The respondent has further refused and
neglected to liquidate the current indebtedness that has fallen due from
February 2022 till date, thereby leaving an additional outstanding of
N70,400,000.00 (Seventy Million, Four Hundred Thousand Naira), which ought to
have been paid as per the agreed monthly instalments, even though the
Respondent has not in any way disputed the debt. Thus, this Honourable Court
ought to enter judgment in favour of the Applicants against the Respondent for
the N70,400,000.00 which is due and payable by the Respondent.
The motion is
supported by a 12 paragraphs affidavit. Attached to the affidavit are Exhibit
TO-1 to Exhibit TO-10. In compliance with Rules of this court the claimant
counsel filed a written address along with the affidavit.
Upon
service of the motion for summary judgment on the defendant, on the 27/11/2023,
the defendant filed a counter affidavit of 12 paragraphs on the 13/12/2023. The
defendant also filed a further affidavit of 7 paragraphs on the 7/2/2024. Also
in support of the counter affidavit is the written address of the defendant
counsel. The motion was heard on the 23/2/2026. Counsel on behalf of the
parties adopted their processes.
The
claimant urged the court to grant the application while the defendant urged the
court to dismiss the application.
I
have carefully considered this application. Grounds 4 and 5 as reproduced above in support of this
application provides the background story that necessitated this application
for summary Judgment. The brief fact is that, between December 2018 to January
2022, the respondent was obligated to pay total monthly instalments of N21,600,000
out of which the respondent repaid a total of N22,611,619.39 leaving a total
outstanding sum of N98,988,380.61, and by virtue of a ruling of this Honourable
Court delivered on 14 June, 2022 by His Lordship, Hon. Justice S.H. Danjidda,
summary judgment was entered in favour of the claimants for the sum of N98,988,380.61k
being the amount due and outstanding in respect of the staff loan as at
January, 2022. The respondent has failed to liquidate the due loan sum in line
with the ruling of this Honourable Court. The further allegation is that the respondent
has further refused and neglected to liquidate the current indebtedness that
has fallen due from February 2022 till date, thereby leaving an additional
outstanding of N70,400,000.00 (Seventy Million, Four Hundred) which ought to
have been paid as per the agreed monthly instalments, even though the
Respondent has not in any way disputed the debt.
The
defendant in their counter affidavit did not controvert these facts. Rather the
defendant is blowing hot and cold. On the one hand the defence of the defendant
to this motion is that they have filed a defence to the suit of the
claimant/applicant and further that the defendant has disclosed a good defence
which raises triable issues. The defendant on the other hand in paragraph 5 and
6 of their counter affidavit filed on the 7/2/2024 states that the defendant
has continued to make further payments in respect of the subject matter of this
suit. That these further payments are evidenced in the receipts of payment
dated 2023 and 30th January, 2024 in the sum of N1million naira, the
payment receipt was annexed as Exhibit A and B. The facts stated in the
affidavit does not and cannot constitute to a defence to this application for
summary judgment this is so because the defendant has not disputed the sum of
N70 400,000 claimed in this application. Rather the above stated paragraph
amount to admission of the sum claimed in as much as the defendant by Exhibits
a and b admits making attempt to pay the debt hereby claimed in this
application. It is pertinent to state that the provisions on summary judgment
procedure in the rules of this court is to serve course of justice. The procedure
is simply designed to ensure speedier attainment of justice with ease, certainty,
and dispatch, when it is abundantly clear that the defendant has absolutely no
defence to the claimant’s case. See Order 16 of the NICN Civil Procedure Rules
2017. There is however a caveat to the nature of the defence that the court can
accept. Such defence must to be direct, cogent and on the merit. The
Supreme Court explained this caveat in the case of Obitude Vs. O. C. B. (2014)
LPELR-22693(SC) that the principles governing an application for summary
Judgment is that a defendant who has no real defence to a suit should not be
allowed to frustrate or cheat the plaintiff out of judgment and what is
required of the defendant is to establish that he has a good defence by showing
or disclosing in his statement of defence and counter affidavit such triable
issues to entitle him to be granted leave to defend the action. It is not
enough for the Defendant to merely deny the claim, but he must set out the
details und particulars of the defence, On the state of the counter affidavit,
the defendant made a general denial of the claimant’s claims, in this
application. In law the general denial amounts to insufficient denial or no
denial at all. See the case of Ilorin East Local Government Vs. Alasinrin
& Anor. (2012) LPELR-8400(CA) Per Mbaba, J.C.A (Pp.27-28,
Paragraphs. F-D).
I
must not also fail to take judicial notice of the Ruling/Judgment of this court
delivered by my learned brother Hon. Justice S. H. Danjida on the 14/6/2022
where this court entered judgment for the unpaid and accrued instalment of the
loan. The claim in this application is the further accrued repayment which the
defendant has defaulted to pay.
On
the whole, this application succeeds. Summary judgment is hereby entered in the
sum of N70,400,000.00 (Seventy Million, Four Hundred Thousand Naira) in
favour of the claimants against the defendant being the overdue and outstanding instalments as of 23
November, 2023 in respect of the staff
loan granted by the Claimants to the Defendant for the purchase of a five
bedroom fully detached duplex with two boys quarters and swimming pool known and
situate at No. 33A, African Lane, off Admiralty Way, Lekki Phase 1, Lagos which
has remained unpaid.
I
make no order as to cost.
Judgment
is hereby entered.
----------------------------------------------------
Hon. Justice
(Dr.) I. J. Essien
(Presiding
Judge)
REPRESENTATION
Wilson Inam SAN with J. Abukpaim Esq. and M. Obi Esq
for the Claimant/Applicant.
M. Adah Esq. with C. Ikweme Esq. for the defendant.