Court Orders Business Woman to Pay N70m Over Failed FCT Land Deal
Justice F.E. Messiri of High Court of the Federal Capital Territory sitting in Jabi, on Thursday, ordered a business woman, Ramat Mercy Mba to pay the sum of N70 million to a client over failure to deliver on a land transaction.
Justice Messiri held that the refund be made to John Ogedegbe, an Edo State-based businessman, amounting to N67,350,000 and general damages of N3,000,000.
The order was on a suit marked CV/574/2021, which has John Ogedegbe as the Claimant while Ramat Mercy Mba and RAMAOSCA Nig Ltd as 1st and 2nd defendants respectively.
Justice Messiri’s order sequelled an application by Edidiong Usungurua Esq, counsel to Ogedegbe, against Mba and her company, over failure to procure the land as agreed or make refund.
The claimant had submitted to the court that he met the defendants in 2021, through one Barrister Emmanuel Ndueche, who introduced them as realtors.
Ogedegbe averred among other depositions that the defendants had offered to help him acquire parcels of land in Jahi, Katampe and Maitama, Abuja, which he accepted and paid them a cumulative sum of N67,350,000 in two installments through their Zenith Bank Plc account.
In his statement of claim dated February 21, 2022, Ogedegbe argued that had he been let into possession of the plots of land or been refunded his monies, he would have made much more monies from either trading on the monies or reselling the plots of land.
The Claimant told the court that he had suffered untoward hardship, loss of profit and decline in business on account of the defendants’ refusal to either let him into possession of the plots of land or refund his monies.
Ogedegbe therefore claimed against the defendants jointly and severally as the sum of N67,350,000 (Sixty Seven Million Three Hundred and Fifty Thousand) Naira only being the total sum of money paid to the defendants by the Claimant for acquisition of plots of land in Jahi, Katamkpe and Maitama which plots, the defendants have not let him into possession of, and/ or monies had and received by the defendants.
The Claimant demanded the sum of N20,000,000 only being general damages occasioned on him by the defendants’ refusal to either let him into possession of those lands or to have refunded his monies as well as the loss of profit and decline in his business fortunes occasioned by the defendants.
“Special damages in the sum of N3,000,000, being the cost of prosecuting this action.
In the particulars of claim, Ogedegbe contended that “had the Claimant been refunded the monies paid or let into possession of the lands paid for, he would not have retained the services of a lawyer to prosecute this case.
“Having not been let into possession, or refunded the monies, he retained the services of Edidiong O. Usungurua & Associates at the cost of N3,000,000
“Out of the N3,000,000, N2,500,000 has been paid to the solicitor.
“The sum of the N3,000,000 out of which N2,500,000 has been paid to the solicitor, constitutes specific loss to the Claimant.
But the defendants had through their counsel, A.W. Chijioke Esq contended that they did not receive the said amount from the claimant but N10 million for the facilitation of allocation of land from the FCT Administration and not a sale of land to the claimant.
The defendants contended that claim was “vexatious, frivolous, embarrassing, spurious and unfounded allegation as they are mere assertions made by the plaintiff.”
