It was gathered by Hobnob News reports that the Court of Appeal, Abuja has ordered the First City Monument Bank (FCMB) to pay the sum of N540 million damages awarded against it for alleged defamation of Prophet Emmanuel Omale and his wife, Deborah.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Justice Yusuf Halilu of a Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court had, in a judgment on Oct. 4, 2022, awarded the sum against FCMB.
Justice Halilu held that the bank recklessly breached the duty of care it owe to Omale of the Divine Hand of God Prophetic Ministry, his wife and the church.
The judge agreed that the bank made a false claim that former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu paid N573 million to the church’s account.
Instead, a three-member panel presided over by Justice Muhammed Shuaibu, granted a conditional stay of the execution of the judgment by ordering the bank to pay the judgment sum of N540 million into an interest yielding account in the name of the court’s chief registrar.
“Consequently, conditional stay of execution of the judgment is hereby granted to the appellant.”
The panel then adjourned further hearing till a date to be communicated to parties by the court’s registry.
During the investigation of Magu by the Justice Isa Salami-led presidential investigation panel, it was reported that an investigation by the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) revealed that the ex-EFCC chairman paid N573 million into Omale’s church’s account with which a property was allegedly bought in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The judge further noted that the bank claimed that the purported N573 million was wrongly reflected as credit entry in Divine Hand of God Prophetic Ministry’s account by its reporting system, which it recently upgraded.
The judge noted that the bank admitted the error, which occasioned incalculable damage to the reputation of the claimants both within and outside the country.
He held that the claimants provided sufficient evidence to establish case of negligence against the bank.
Justice Halilu proceeded to award N200 million as aggravated damages; N140,500,000 as specific damages and N200 million as general damages.
HOBNOB NEWS
