— Says Prof. Akinseye Took Advantage of Death of Its Former CEO To Demand More Than Agreed Fee
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The management of NACENN Nig Ltd, has stated that the company is not indebted to Prof Yemi Akinseye George SAN, having paid him for his services up till April 2020 and compensating him to the tune of N10, 416,666.65, for his efforts and assistance with the matter, even after his termination had come to the knowledge of the new management of NACENN.
The new Chief Executive Officer (CEO)of NACENN, Afam Ezulike, son of late Chief Ezulike, disclosed this in addition to filing its statement of defence and counterclaim to the action filed by Prof Yemi Akinseye George, SAN, in Suit No HC/CV/2055/2020, pending before Hon Justice Olukayode Adeniyi.
In a CTC sighted by TheNigerialawyerTNL), NACENN claimed against Prof Yemi Akinseye George, SAN, as follows:
• A declaration that the conduct of the Claimant in misrepresenting to the 1st Defendant his professional fee as 20% of the recovered debt value was unjustified and wrongful.
• A declaration that the conduct of the Claimant in misrepresenting to the 1st Defendant his professional fee as 20% of the recovered debt value vitiates the engagement of the Claimant with the 1 Defendant.
• The sum of N50, 000, 000.00 (Fifty Million Naira) with accrued interest at the prevailing bank rate from 28 November 2019 till the time of final liquidation of the claimed sum.
• Cost of this action on a full indemnity basis including but not limited to the 1st Defendant’s costs of engaging counsel to represent it in these proceedings and its out-of-pocket expenses.
Also in the witness statement on oath of Afam Ezulike, in support of the counterclaim, he averred that his late father, Chief Greg Ndubueze Ezulike, had engaged Prof Yemi Akinseye George, SAN, for the purpose of recovering long-term debts owed to NACENN Nig Ltd, by the Federal Government of Nigeria and that he was engaged on 28 February 2018, to complement and provide additional services, in terms of exploring his expertise and contacts to facilitate the payments of the outstanding judgment debts by FGN in the shortest time possible.
He deposed that by the letter of engagement, dated 28 February 2018, it was stipulated that the obligations of Prof Yemi Akinseye George, SAN,(including payment of 10% of any recovered sum) to him, shall terminate automatically after 30th March 2018 from the date he received the letter.
Afam also stated that NACENN received payments from the Federal Government in the sums of N100, 000,000 (One Hundred Million Naira) and N150, 000,000.00 (One Hundred and Fifty Million Naira) respectively, and paid10% of the said sums to Prof Yemi Akinseye George, SAN, as agreed fees, in June 2018, and 2019 respectively.
The new CEO to NACENN Nig Ltd, also averred in his witness statement on oath, that the Federal Government paid NACENN Nig Ltd, the sum of N500, 000,000.00 (Five Hundred Million Naira) in further settlement of the debt owed to it in November 2019. He said in the supporting statement on oath, that following the death of his father, late Chief Ezulike, the former CEO NACENN, that Prof Yemi Akinseye George, SAN, by a letter of demand dated 27 November 2019, requested from the NACENN Nig Ltd, amongst other things, the sum of N100, 000, 000.00 (One Hundred Million Naira), representing 20% of the sum of 500 Million Naira, recovered from the Federal Government in November 2019, instead of the earlier agreed 10%. The letter of demand dated 27 November 2019 written by Prof Yemi Akinseye George,SAN, immediately upon the death of the former CEO of NACENN, Chief Ezulike, to his grieving family, was also pleaded.
He further stated that the new management of NACENN, were deceived into paying the sum of N100, 000, 000.00 to Prof Yemi Akinseye George, SAN, by the Prof. He deposed in the accompanying affidavit statement, to his counter claim, that the company was misled by Prof, into accepting to pay 20% as the agreed fee, due to Prof Yemi Akinseye George, SAN, having not seen or read the letter of engagement for his services in that regard, immediately after the demise of late Chief Ezulike, when Prof made the demand for the payment of the 20%.
He deposed that in making the demand for 20% of the said recovered sum, instead of the 10% as agreed with the late CEO of NACENN, Prof Yemi Akinseye George, SAN, took advantage of the death of the former Chairman/CEO of the NACENN, and the fact that the letter of engagement was not readily available to the new management of the Company, to ascertain the exact terms of the engagement or his alleged oral agreement with the late Chairman/CEO of the NACENN.
Afam Ezulike, the son of late Chief Ezulike, who succeeded his father to become the new Chairman/CEO of NACENN Nig Ltd, further averred in the said affidavit, that the company discovered that Prof Yemi Akinseye George, SAN, had misrepresented that he was entitled to 20% of the recovered sums from the Federal Government. The said misrepresentation he averred, was contrary to the letter of engagement, which provided that the SAN, was only entitled to 10% of the recovered sums. He further averred that the payment of 10% of the recovered sum to Prof Yemi Akinseye George, SAN, as contained in his letter of engagement, was further corroborated by the conducts of the parties, even after the termination of the engagement of Prof Yemi Akinseye George SAN’s engagement in March 2018, by effluxion of time, in accordance with the letter of engagement.
He further claimed that, despite the termination of Prof’s engagement by NACENN, and his awareness and knowledge of the engagement of other firms by NACENN, through his late father, for the purpose of recovering the same debt, that Prof Akinseye George, SAN, continued to engage the Federal Government Ministries, in collaboration with the efforts of the other law firms and officer of the NACENN, for the recovery of the outstanding sums owed by the Federal Government. He deposed that their combined efforts yielded the further payment of two tranches of N416, 666, 666.6 (Four Hundred and Six teen Million, Six Hundred and Sixty-Six Thousand Naira, Six kobo) in May 2020 and June 2020 respectively. He also averred that Prof Yemi Akinseye George, SAN, in paragraph 71 of his Claim, mentioned and admitted the joint efforts of other persons engaged by the NACENN, for the recovery of the debt. The letter of Engagement of Henry lheanacho dated 10 September 2019 and the Service Agreement between the NACENN and Henry lheanacho , dated 23 September 2019 were also pleaded by Afam Ezulike in support of the case of the company against Prof.
In his deposition on oath, stated that in fairness to Prof Yemi Akinseye George, SAN, and as a sign of good faith, that NACENN considered the efforts of Prof Yemi Akinseye George, SAN, in recovering a very significant amount of the debt owed by the Federal Government, and decided to pay and indeed paid him 2.5% of the subsequent payment it received from the Federal Government in May 2020, notwithstanding its discovery of the contract of engagement, and the percentage stated therein and the fact that the termination predated the payment.
He further averred that Prof continued to insist that he was still entitled to 10% of the sums recovered from the FG in May 2020 and June 2020, even though Prof realized that the members of the family of late Chief Ezulike and the new management of NACENN, had become aware of his disengagement with NACENN, by virtue of the final termination in August 2019, of his services by the late CEO of NACENN.
The new CEO of NACENN, also averred that the company is not indebted to Prof Yemi Akinseye George SAN, having paid him for his services up till April 2020 and compensating him to the tune of N10, 416,666.65, for his efforts and assistance with the matter, even after his termination had come to the knowledge of the new management of NACENN. In his deposition, the son of late Chief Ezulike, said that it was Prof Akinseye George that was indebted to NACENN in the sum of N50, 000,000.00, being excess fee paid to him in November 2019, following his misrepresentation of his professional fees to the new management of NACENN by his demand for 20% instead of the agreed 10%, of the recovered sum of N500, 000, 000.00 paid by FG in November 2019.
In Afam’s statement on oath, he said that the payment of 20% of recovered debt value in November 2019, was due to the misrepresentation made by Prof Yemi Akinseye George to the new management of NACENN via his demand letter dated 27th of November 2019, clearly stating that he was entitled to 20% of the recovered debt value instead of the agreed and conventional 10%.
NACENN in its counterclaim against Prof Yemi Akinseye George SAN, had pleaded misrepresentation against him. The company gave the particulars of the said misrepresentation by Prof Yemi Akinseye George as follows:
The Claimant failed to disclose that the agreement between him and the 1st Defendant had terminated since August 2019.
The Claimant misrepresented that he was paid the sum of N50,000,000 on 28 November 2019, being 10% of the sum of N500,000,000, paid to the Defendant by the Federal Government of Nigeria, while in fact, the Claimant fraudulently demanded and obtained N100,000,000.00 from Defendant being 20% of the sum of N500,000,000.00 paid to Defendant by the FGN.
The Claimant did not disclose the fact that he sent a letter to Defendant barely a month after the death of the former Chairman/CEO of Defendant to demand 20% of the sum of N500,000,000 paid to Defendant by the FGN.
The Claimant did not disclose the fact that Defendant paid him the sum of N100,000,000 being 20% of the N500,000,000.00 received from the FGN because the 1st Defendant’s new management had not found the letter of engagement and trusted the Claimant was being honest in his demands.
The Claimant wrote to Defendant on 20th May 2020 via WhatsApp text sent to Afam Ezulike on phone number +44(o)7564 967 941demanding 20% of the sum of 416,666,666 paid by the FG to the 1st Defendant in May 2020.
The Claimant misrepresented that Defendant is indebted to the sum of N73,333,333.27, when in fact, this allegation is blatantly false.
Afam Ezulike, said that Prof Yemi Akinseye George SAN, had amended his statement of Claim three times in the course of the hearing of the matter pending at the High Court FCT, Apo Abuja.
The matter has been adjourned to 18th of February 2021, for continuation of hearing. Afam Ezulike reaffirms the confidence of the family of late Chief Ezulike, in the Nigerian judiciary, and believes that justice will be done in the matter.
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