Prof. Yemi Akinseye-George (SAN) Drags Nacenn Nig Ltd To Court Over N115 Million Legal Fee

Professor Yemi Akinseye-George, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, has sued Nacenn Nigeria Limited over unpaid N115million legal fees.

According to the learned silk, the Chief Executive Officer of the company, late Chief Greg Ezulike, hired him to recover N2 billion debt from federal government via a letter dated 28th February, 2018 and promised to pay him 10 per cent of any money received from the Federal Government on or before March 30, 2018.

Akinseye-George said he succeeded in recovering the funds. He said he first recovered first installment of N100million and later N150million and the company paid him his 10 per cent of both installments (N10 and N15 million respectively).

He said Chief Ezulike died on October 23, 2019 and the deceased’s son, Afam, reassure him that the company would honour the deceased’s commitment to him.

The claimant said he recovered another installment of N500million in November 2019 and was paid his 10 per cent

He said due to his efforts again, FG decided to pay the whole outstanding balance in three equal payments and in May 2020 the sum of N416,666,666.6 was paid to the company but to his “utter surprise and dismay,” the company refused to pay him the agreed 10 per cent fee.

Instead, he was paid “a paltry sum of N10.4million being 2.5 per cent of the amount paid the defendant by the Federal Government”.

The claimant said the company was indebted to him to the tune of N73,333,333.27 up to the time of filing the suit and is entitled to a further N41,666,666.67 in view of the last payment which was due for July.

Akinseye-George claims he has “suffered great financial inconvenience” due to the refusal to pay the balance of his professional fees, adding that the company is “stopped from denying the efforts and work of the claimant”.

Nacenn Nigeria Ltd, in its statement of defence and counter-claim, through its counsel, Godwin Omoaka (SAN), said the suit does not disclose a reasonable cause of action and would therefore urge the court either before or during the trial to dismiss or strike out the claim.

The company said the letter engaging Prof. Akinseye-George “did not stipulate that the first defendant will pay the claimant 10 per cent of any payment received from the Federal Government on or before 30th March 2018.”

“Rather, the letter stipulates that the first defendant’s obligations (including payment of 10 per cent of any recovered sum) to the claimant shall terminate automatically after 30th March 2018 from the date the claimant receives the letter if the first defendant does not receive payment of the total sum of N2billion from the Federal Government.”

Nacenn Nigeria admitted that it was paid N500million in November 2019. However, it accused Akinseye-George of using the occasion of the death of the former Chairman/CEO of the company to fraudulently misrepresent his entitlements as to professional fees by inflating and collecting N100million, “being 20 per cent [instead of the agreed 10 per cent] of the N500million recovered from the Federal Government on behalf of the first defendant in November 2019”

The company also accused the learned silk of misrepresenting the pendency of his contract with the defendant which had long expired since March 2018 but was by conduct effectively terminated in or about 09 August 2019.

The company said the payment of two tranches of N416,666,666.6 in May and June was due to the “joint efforts of other persons engaged by the first defendant for the recovery of the debt”.

Therefore, according to the company, the 2.5 per cent payment to Akinseye-George from the subsequent payments it received in May 2020 was in fairness to him and a sign of good faith considering his efforts in recovering a very significant amount of the debt owed by the Federal Government

The company insisted that it is “not indebted to the claimant in the amount alleged, 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 defendant”.

The company said it did not make a new promise to Prof Akinseye-George upon the death of its former Chairman/CEO to pay him 20 per cent of the recovered debt.

“The claimant’s misrepresentation cannot constitute a new promise, or better said, vary the agreement of the parties…

“Therefore, the doctrine of contractual estoppel cannot avail the claimant in this circumstance.”

In its Counter-claim, the company said it has “suffered an enormous loss arising from the fraudulent misrepresentation of the claimant’s professional fees” as it would have invested the N50million or kept it in an interest-yielding account.

It is therefore demanding the “sum of N50million with accrued interest as the prevailing bank rate from 28 November till the time of final liquidation of the claimed sum” among others.

the company also asked for cost of the cross action

In his reply to the Counter claim of the company

Akinseye-George denied the allegation of fraud or misrepresentation.

He stated that the N50million was deployed to honour the commitments made by the late Chief Ezulike to those who facilitated the recovery of the judgment-debt.

“These commitments were known to the General Manager, Mr Ifeanyi Okwusa and Mr Maduka Anigbogu.

“The N50million was deployed fully for the purpose it was brought, through Mr Ifeanyi Okwuosa.

“I never misrepresented any fact or facts to anybody, including Afam Ezulike, in respect of anything done in the course of the recovery of the entire debt,” the SAN said.

Meanwhile, the company filed an application praying for an order setting aside or discharging the ex-parte order of Mareva injunction obtained against it by the claimant on July 6, 2020, to attach N73,333,333.27 in its account.

“Zero evidence was led to show that the applicant was in the process of dissipating its assets especially carting it out of the jurisdiction of this court to justify the grant of the freezing order,” the defendant said.

On October 14, court granted Nacenn Nigeria’s request and limited the attached sum to N115million, which formed the principal claim.