An Abuja Area Court sitting in Lugbe has ordered a 28-year-old driver, Stanley Oliver of Lugbe Zone 7, to pay N55,000 to a housewife, Mrs. Habiba Timothy. Delivering judgment in the case, the Judge, Haruna Masanawa, said the court passed judgment in favour of the plaintiff after hearing both sides of the matter. Masanawa ordered Oliver to pay the plaintiff in two installments, the first of which must be on or before February 28, and the second payment must be settled by March 31.
He also granted the plaintiff’s prayer for N5,000 cost of action against the defendant and ordered the defendant to pay the cost of action on the same day with the payment of the first installment.
“Certainly, the liability was admitted by the defendant; the court has no option than to pass its judgment in favour of the plaintiff. The defendant did not give the court a convincing reason why he should be given more time to enable him pay apart from the time the plaintiff suggested.
“This is the judgment of this honourable court and any aggrieved party can appeal against it within 30 days from today,’’ the judge said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Habiba had dragged Oliver to court in September, 2012 for failing to refund a total of N110, 000, which he had borrowed from her.
She also urged the court to compel him to pay her N50, 000 damages and N5, 000 being the cost of litigation.
In her statement of claim, Habiba told the court that Oliver had in April, 2012, come to her place to borrow the sum of N55, 000, in order to complete the money he had to enable him buy a pick-up vehicle.
She told the court that after she lent the defendant the money, he came back demanding for an additional N45, 000 to repair the car which he bought because it was involved in an accident and that after she again obliged him, he came back to her demanding an additional N10, 000, for minor repairs, which she still gave him.
The plaintiff said the defendant failed to refund her money after several efforts to recover the said money from him.
She also admitted to not keeping proper records of the transactions between her and the accused, adding that at her last attempt at recovering her money, before she decided to sue Oliver, he threatened to kill her with a knife, drove her out of his house and seized her cell phone and shoes.
However, during the resumed hearing of the matter on December 17, 2012, Oliver denied most of the plaintiff’s claims, but later admitted to some when he was confronted with evidence.
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