- 20 Marks
Question
a. Adamu, a public officer whose duties relate to the administration of justice, was caught on camera corruptly requesting money from a person with a view to avoiding his duties to favor that person.
Required:
i. Under the Criminal Code, what offence could Adamu be charged for and what punishment is he liable to if convicted? (2 Marks)
ii. What would be Adamu’s punishment on conviction if his duties did not relate to the administration of justice? (2 Marks)
b. Thomas carried out a series of transactions on his bank account involving a frequency considered by the bank manager, Alhaji Adeyemo, to be unjustifiable or unreasonable. Adeyemo reported the transactions to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, leading to the interrogation of Thomas. Thomas has now filed a civil action for defamation against Alhaji Adeyemo.
Required:
Advise Alhaji Adeyemo on possible liability for the action and his possible defence. (4 Marks)
c. George, who is the chief accountant of Digital Supermarkets, has reasons to believe that certain online lodgments into the supermarket’s bank account by one of the salesgirls were highly suspicious.
Required:
i. What steps should George take as the accountant? (2 Marks)
ii. Explain briefly what you understand by ‘electronic fraud’. (2 Marks)
d. Brenda, an agent who had instructions to sell her principal’s house in the open market, bought the house for herself using her brother as a front without informing the principal.
Required:
State TWO duties Brenda has breached as an agent. (2 Marks)
e. Ngozi retains part of the goods he was instructed to sell as an agent on the ground that the principal has refused to indemnify him for reasonable expenses incurred in the course of carrying out the agency.
Required:
State the condition under which Ngozi, as an agent, could lawfully retain the goods. (2 Marks)
f. Juliet is an officer of an auctioneer company with instructions to auction properties belonging to Adams, but the warehouse handlers displayed goods belonging to Mathias in error. Mathias has brought a suit against Juliet for negligence.
Required:
i. Advise Juliet on the defence or defences available to her, explaining briefly the rule of law for your advice. (2 Marks)
ii. State TWO necessary ingredients which must be proved by a plaintiff to succeed in an action for negligence. (2 Marks)
Answer
a. i. Offence and punishment for Adamu under the Criminal Code: Adamu will be charged with official corruption and will be liable to imprisonment for 14 years (2 Marks).
ii. Punishment if duties are not related to the administration of justice: If Adamu’s duties do not relate to the administration of justice, he will be liable to imprisonment for 7 years (2 Marks).
b. Advice to Alhaji Adeyemo:
Adeyemo’s actions are justified as per the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2011, which mandates financial institutions to report suspicious transactions. He acted in good faith, and Section 6(10) of the Act provides immunity from both civil and criminal liability. Therefore, Adeyemo has a statutory defence and cannot be made liable for defamation (4 Marks).
c. i. Steps George should take:
George should deploy his professional expertise to investigate the suspicious transactions and report any fraudulent activity to the appropriate authority (2 Marks).
ii. Electronic fraud:
Electronic fraud refers to fraud committed using electronic devices such as computers or mobile phones, often over the internet (2 Marks).
d. Duties breached by Brenda as an agent:
i. Duty to avoid conflict of interest.
ii. Duty of full disclosure to the principal (2 Marks).
e. Condition under which Ngozi can lawfully retain the goods:
Ngozi may retain the goods under his right of lien until the principal indemnifies him for reasonable expenses (2 Marks).
f. i. Defence for Juliet:
Juliet can claim the defence of mistake of fact, as she was unaware the wrong goods were displayed. Under the general rule, ignorance of fact is an excuse (2 Marks).
ii. Necessary ingredients to prove negligence:
- Duty of care.
- Breach of duty.
- Damage caused as a result of the breach (2 Marks).
- Tags: Agency Law, Electronic Fraud, Money laundering, Official Corruption
- Level: Level 1
- Topic: Agency Law
- Series: NOV 2021
- Uploader: Theophilus