Facts:

The respondent (Zeco Nig. Ltd) placed an order for a consignment of goods to be shipped to it in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. The goods were insured with the appellant, Leadway Assurance Co. Ltd. When the ship arrived Port Harcourt wharf and started discharging its cargoes, the respondents had cause to suspect that the goods have been tampered with. When the first case containing the goods was off loaded, it was discovered that it had been broken into and some goods removed. 

While off-loading the cargoes, the officials of Nigerian National Shipping Line and the Nigerian Ports Authority were invited. The Nigerian Shipping Line then instructed that there should be no further off-loading until Lloyd’s agents–loss adjusters were invited. The officials of Lloyd’s were duly informed and they came with agents of Nigerian Shipping Line and Nigerian Ports Authority who all went on board the ship and inspected the whole consignment. 

Immediately after the inspection, the respondent made an oral report of the loss through the Managing Director to the appellant at its office in Kaduna. The respondent was told to go back to Port Harcourt and await the report from the three bodies who inspected the consignment, that there was nothing the appellant could do about the respondent’s claim without the report. It took sometime before the reports were released.