N90m Loan: Diamond Bank vs Sunshine De School Suit for Hearing April 11

Justice M.L Sule of an Oyo State high court sitting at Iyaganku, Ibadan has fixed for definitive hearing, a six years old suit bordering on N90m loan recovery between the Sunshine De Gold Nursery and Primary school and Diamond Bank Plc forApril 11, 2018.

In the six years that the case had been on, there had been no hearing as the bank alleged before the court that the claimant asked for out of court settlement but hadn’t been forthcoming and had refused to file a defense in the matter for over four years.

The original facility granted was pegged at N90 m during negotiation and after a proposal was made, the bank conceded that they should pay N70m out of the N90m but the school only paid N20m and stopped until the window of opportunity agreed for payment had lapsed. The inability of the school to fulfill the agreement sent the case back to court.

But due to the absence of the claimant’s witness, Justice Sule adjourned till April 11 and awarded a cost of N5000 against the school.

When the case was called up, counsel to Sunshine De Gold Nursery and Primary school, the claimant, Adeola Owolabi, informed the court that the case was for definite hearing as settlement had broken down but informed the court that she would be asking for an adjournment as they couldn’t reach their witness.

She added that before settlement broke down, the school had paid N20m out of the N90m before the time agreed for the entire payment lapsed. But counsel to Diamond Bank, Ayo Faleti, had opposed the adjournment application on the ground that in the six years that the case had been on, the claimants had been ensuring it didn’t move on through series of adjournments and had applied for a cost of N30, 000 if the court will grant the claimant’s application.

The matter is the fallout of a loan facility accessed by the school from Diamond Bank and guaranteed by the proprietress of the school but the school defaulted and when the bank tried to recover the loan, it filed an application before the court to stop the process. The bank filed its defense and counter claimed their application to demand for the money and joined the person that gave his property as collateral for the loan as co-defendant