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C. IDIGBE, JSC (Delivering the Leading Judgment): This action was started by a writ on 19th January, 1973, in which the appellants (a state Corporation in the Hungarian People's Republic) claim against the respondents (a trading company incorporated in Nigeria), the sum of ₦102,702.73 as indorsers of a bill of exchange dated 1st March, 1972, and payable on 30th April, 1972, and in the alternative as guarantors of a contractual undertaking made to the appellants by Messrs. West Africa Steel and Wire Company Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "WASCO"), a trading company incorporated in Nigeria; this amount (i.e. ₦102,702.73) is made up of the principal sum of ₦97,798 due under the bill, the sum of ₦4,890.13 being interest thereon and the costs of noting protest on the said bill, being the sum of ₦14.60. The appellants also claim interest on the total sum claimed (i.e. ₦102,702.73) "at 10% per annum until judgement is delivered."
Briefly, the following facts constitute the background to th…