Court orders bank to pay N75m to firm for breach of agreement

By Lukman Olabiyi

Justice Olumuyiwa Martins of the Lagos High Court has ordered a bank to pay N75 million in damages for breaching a non-disclosure and non-circumvention agreement with Comfort Stevens Nigeria Limited and its CEO, Dr. John Nwankwo.

The court awarded N50 million for damages and N25 million for  the claimants’ legal costs.

Comfort Stevens Nigeria Limited and. Nwankwo initiated the suit after Sterling Bank circumvented a confidentiality deed, dated September 16, 2019, and a non-disclosure and non-circumvention agreement, dated October 3, 2019.

The bank engaged in the same project with a third party without the claimants’ consent or disclosure, violating the agreement’s terms and conditions.

Justice Martins declared the breach unlawful and unjustifiable, issuing a perpetual injunction preventing the bank, its personnel and agents from engaging in any acts prohibited by the agreement.

The claimants had planned a N10.5 billion footwear and shoe component technology and automated project in Aba, Abia State, which the bank was interested in financing, if the amount was reduced to N4.5 billion.

After the claimants agreed and executed the necessary agreements to protect their trade secrets, the bank violated the agreements by negotiating with the Abia and Kano state governments on similar projects without the claimants’ knowledge.

The claimants filed a suit in 2020, arguing that the bank acted in bad faith by using their trade secrets to negotiate with third parties.

Justice Martins, in her July 2, 2024, judgment, noted that the bank did not deny the agreement’s execution and found that the evidence presented by the claimants was credible and sufficient to prove the breach.

Consequently, the court resolved the issue in favour of the claimants and awarded damages against the bank.