Court Fixes Judgement Date In Contractor Suit Against Oyedepo, Church

An Ogun State High Court sitting at Ota will, on January 20, 2025, deliver judgment in a suit filed by a firm, Paudemic International Limited, and its Managing Director, Abraham Olorunda against the Registered Trustees Living Faith Church Worldwide, over alleged N29,532,638,60 unpaid contract sum.

Justice A A Shobayo fixed the date after the parties in the matter, including the founder of the Living Faith Church, Bishop David Oyedepo, and Covenant Microfinance Bank Limited, adopted their final written addresses.

Apart from the unpaid contract sum, the claimants in suit number HCT/429/2020 are also demanding an interest of 21 per cent per annum from October 2019 to judgment and, after that, 10 per cent per annum from judgment until the final liquidation of the judgment sum.

They also demand N2 million as general damages against the first and second defendants and N1 million as their solicitor’s fee.

In their statement of Claim, the claimants alleged that they were awarded a contract for the constrictor of a cylindrical steel tank at Covenant University Ota in the sum of N14,108,000.00 through a letter dated 20 October 2008.

The Claimants averred that they were not mobilised but approached Covenant Microfinance Bank Limited for an Advance Payment Guarantee to commence execution of the contract.

They also claimed that the first and second Defendants gave the Claimants a cheque for N10,581,000.00, which they returned upon presentation on two occasions.

The claimants stated that the bank turned the advance payment guarantee into a loan and charged interest. They also said they got no response when they wrote to the first and second Defendants in 2009 to complain about the returned cheque.