The First City Monument Bank (FCMB) has been ordered by the Court of Appeal in Abuja to pay N540 million in damages for allegedly defaming Prophet Emmanuel Omale and his wife, Deborah.
SOUTHERNROBIN reports that Equity Yusuf Halilu of a Government Capital Domain (FCT) High Court had, in a judgment on Oct. 4, 2022, granted the aggregate against FCMB.
Equity Halilu held that the bank wildly penetrated the obligation of care it owe to Omale of the Heavenly Hand of God Prophetic Service, his significant other and the congregation.
The judge agreed that the bank made a false claim that Ibrahim Magu, the former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), had paid the church N573 million.
In the mean time, the Court of Allure, in a decision on Feb. 1, dismissed FCMB’s solicitation for a stay of execution of the judgment forthcoming the assurance of its allure, as implored in a movement on notice it documented.
All things being equal, a three-part board managed by Equity Muhammed Shuaibu, truly a restrictive stay of the execution of the judgment by requesting the bank to pay the judgment amount of N540 million into a premium yielding record for the sake of the court’s main enlistment center.
The appellate court stated in an enrolled copy of the ruling that was seen on Sunday: In accordance with the first prayer in the appellant’s March 3, 2022, motion, the application is granted.
“Consequently, the appellant is hereby granted a conditional stay of execution of the judgment.”
As per the re-appraising court, the condition being that the judgment aggregate will be stored into a premium yielding financial balance of the court to be opened by the main enlistment center of this court in something like 48 hours of the award of this request.
The board then, at that point, concluded further hearing till a date to be imparted to parties by the court’s library.
The restrictive stay allowed by the Court of Allure was on the other hand surrendered by the respondents; Omale, his significant other and the congregation, in their counter sworn statement to the appealing party’s movement, which they had really tried to be excused.
According to NAN, Justice Halilu’s Oct. 4 ruling was on a defamation suit marked: FCT/HC/CV2541/2020 documented by Omale, his better half and the congregation against the bank.
It was reported that an investigation conducted by the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) revealed that the ex-EFCC chairman paid N573 million into Omale’s church account, which was used to allegedly purchase a property in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), during the presidential investigation panel led by Justice Isa Salami’s investigation of Magu.
Equity Halilu, in the judgment noticed that proof under the steady gaze of his court showed that the bank conceded mistake in its report, to the NFIU, of sections in Divine Hand of God Prophetic Service’s record.
The appointed authority further noticed that the bank guaranteed that the implied N573 million was wrongly reflected as credit section in Divine Hand of God Prophetic Service’s record by its revealing framework, which it as of late overhauled.
The adjudicator noticed that the bank conceded the mistake, which occasioned limitless harm to the standing of the inquirers both inside and outside the country.
He held that the petitioners gave adequate proof to lay out instance of carelessness against the bank.
Equity Halilu continued to grant N200 million as exasperated harms; N200 million in general damages and N140,500,000 in specific damages.
