Facts:

This appeal is against the concurrent findings of fact of the two lower courts, wherein the Court of Appeal, Lagos Division (lower Court), delivered its judgment affirming the judgment of the High Court of Lagos State (trial Court) in favour of the Respondent, in a fundamental proceeding.

The Appellants are employees of First Bank with the 1st Appellant being the officer in charge of the account of a customer known as OLAM NIGERIA LIMITED on which a fraud of ₦355,000,000 (Three Hundred and Fifty-Five Million naira) was attempted on. The Respondent on the other hand, was a dispatch rider whose routine duties include delivering documents specified by his superiors to various officers within the Bank and other places around Lagos.

The Respondent was instructed to take four (4) funds transfer forms originating from the account of OLAM NIGERIA LIMITED to the Operations Manager at the Head Office to effect the transfer of the total sum of N355 million into four Corporate Accounts. After the dispatch, he was summoned to the office where after, the two Appellants caused him to be detained at the Lion Building Police Station because he refused to agree that he submitted the transfer funds in error to the Operations Manager. He was therefore detained for two days at the Lion Building Police Station cell and bailed on the 3rd day. Subsequently that same night, the Bank’s security men on the instruction of the Appellants got the Respondent detained at Ikoyi Police Station. He was detained for seven (7) days and charged at the Magistrates’ Court 11 in Lagos State. After numerous adjournments, the Magistrates’ court struck out the charge for lack of diligent prosecution. After his discharge by the Magistrates’ Court, the Respondent instituted proceedings to enforce his fundamental human rights to personal liberty and dignity and for damages for his unlawful incarceration at various police stations for several days for no just cause. After hearing the application, the trial court found and held that the rights of the Respondent had been infringed and awarded exemplary damages of Ten Million Naira (₦10,000,000) against the 1st Appellant and Seven Million, Five Hundred Thousand Naira (₦7,500,000) against the 2nd Appellant and costs of the action at ₦1 million each against the Appellants. The Appellants being dissatisfied with the judgement of the trial court, appealed to the lower court. The lower Court after it re-evaluated the evidence at trial and considered the issues raised by the parties, held that the trial court discharged its primary duty of evaluating evidence and its conclusion after the evaluation was not perverse and that the trial court justified its findings of violation of human rights against the Appellants. The lower Court also held there was no appeal against the award of aggravated damages and refused to decide the point.

Dissatisfied with the decision of the lower Court, the Appellants appealed to the Supreme Court.