UWAIS, CJN (Delivering the Lead Judgment): This is an interlocutory appeal from the decision of the Court of Appeal, Lagos Division (Musdapher, JCA, Uwaifo, JCA, as he then was, and Pats-Acholonu, JCA).
The facts of the case, which are not in dispute, are briefly as follows. The respondent herein was petitioner in the Federal High Court, Lagos while the appellant herein was the respondent to the petition. The appellant operated an account with the respondent. On 18th March, 1992, the appellant sent a letter to the respondent requesting for allocation of foreign exchange. In the A months of March and April, 1992 the sum of US$200,000.00 (United States Two Hundred Thousand dollars) equivalent then to N3,636,000.00 was allocated to the account of the appellant. By a letter dated 26th March, 1992, the appellant requested another bank - Continental Merchant Bank Plc, to send some documents, including “Form M”, to the respondent to enable the respondent dispose of the foreign exchange allo…