Facts:

The plaintiff carried on the business of the supply of gas in gas cylinders. On 17/9/93, the plaintiff and the defendant entered into a written agreement. The plaintiff was to sell gas to the defendant in cylinders on a continuing basis. The defendant, which was based in Suleja, Niger State was to pay for the cost of transportation of the gas cylinders from Kaduna, the base of the plaintiff to Suleja. The plaintiff supplied an initial 60 gas cylinders to the defendant against which the defendant deposited N210,000.00 (Two hundred and ten thousand Naira) at N3,500.00 (Three thousand, five hundred Naira) per cylinder. Further supplies were made to the defendant. At the time the suit was brought, plaintiff had a total of 63 gas cylinders with the defendant. It was pleaded that at the time the defendant stopped buying gas from the plaintiff, it did not return the 63 empty gas cylinders. Rather, the defendant used the empty cylinders to buy gas from other gas dealers. The plaintiff further pleaded that between December 1993 and February 1994, it cost N50.00 (Fifty Naira) per cylinder per day to hire a gas cylinder and this rose to N200.00 (Two hundred Naira) and later to N300.00 (Three hundred Naira) by 1/8/95. The plaintiff therefore claimed, amongst others, against the defendant the sum of N283,500.00 (Two hundred and eighty three thousand five hundred Naira) being the cost of the hire of the 63 gas cylinders for 3 months and N32,000.00 (Thirty two thousand Naira) being the cost of transportation.