Facts:

The appellant obtained a facility of seven million Naira from the respondent to enable it import stockfish for resale in Nigeria. It was a condition of the loan that the facility be repaid on or before 31/12/89. The appellant did not pay on the due date. Rather the appellant claimed that the respondent was negligent in the opening of Letters of Credit to cover the importation and that in consequence, the stockfish arrived Nigeria late such that the appellant could not take advantage of the expected sale of stockfish in December, 1989. The price of stockfish had by then fallen. The stockfish was not sold and it became bad until the health authority ordered its destruction. Consequently, the bales of stockfish were destroyed.

The appellant commenced this action in the High Court claiming the following special damages:-

(a) An order of this Honourable Court compelling the defendants to waive or absolve or write off the sum of N10,805,000.00 (Ten million, eight hundred and five thousand Naira) being the cost of 2,900 bales of stockfish destroyed by the Health Authorities as a result of the defendant’s negligence; or