New Telegraph 
The chairman, Maize Growers Processors, and Marketers Association of Nigeria (MAGPAMAN), Chief Ebere Oji Odi and Ecobank Nigeria Limited have appealed the verdict of Ebonyi State High Court, Abakaliki over the Federal Government Anchor Borrowers scheme.
The appellate in the suit filed at the court of appeal, Enugu State are seeking the setting aside of the judgment of the lower court granting one Nzubechi Okoro’s claims in its entirety on the ground that it is against the weight of evidence.
The Ebonyi State High Court, sitting in Abakaliki had ordered the Executive Chairman of MAGPAMAN Ebonyi State office and EcoBank to pay N10 million damages in favour of Okoro for using his bank details to obtain loan facility without his consent.
Okoro, a Delta State-based businessman from Ebonyi State had dragged Eco Bank (1st defendant), Odii (2nd defendant), Nwabueze (3rd defendant) and MAGPAMAN (4th defendant) to court after his Bank Verification Number (BVN) was blacklisted by the Central Bank of Nigeria over a loan that he purportedly took from the Anchor Borrowers’ Scheme of the Federal Government.
The trial judge, Justice Chris Eze, declared that defendants shall jointly and severally pay to the plaintiff, the sum of N10 million only as general damages for the financial loss, embarrassment, emotional and psychological trauma and pain suffered by the plaintiff, following the blacklisting of his (the plaintiff) BVN by the CBN as a result of the unlawful and fraudulent use of his bank details and BVN by the 2nd to 4th defendants to obtain a loan facility from the 1st defendant and connivance of all the defendants to carry out their unlawful acts.
Dissatisfied with the judgement, Ecobank and Odii approached the court of appeal, challenging the decision of Justice Eze. Ecobank argued that the trial Court was in error when it failed to properly evaluate the pieces of evidence before it in order to come to a just and conclusive decision and thereby occasioned a miscarriage of justice.
The bank further argued that the lower court failed to consider and evaluate the evidence of the Appellant that the Central Bank of Nigeria gave the list and directed the Appellant to open account under anchor borrower’s programme.
