PREJUDGMENT INTEREST IN THE ABSENCE OF STATUTE, CONTRACT OR MERCANTILE USAGE: AN INVESTIGATION OF NIGERIAN SUPREME COURT AUTHORITIES.

ABSTRACT

This article examines five carefully selected authorities of the Supreme Court of Nigeria on prejudgment interest. It investigates whether there are conflicts amongst these decisions or the ‘supposed’ conflicts are borne out of the failure to engage in the creative exercise that constitutes the reading of law reports to understand the rationes decidendi of these cases. The article finds the points of confluence and divergence in these cases. It commends the on-going efforts of the National Assembly to enact the Federal High Court (Amendment) Act, 2021, which seeks to provide for the award of prejudgment interest in commercial transactions. The article recommends that the appropriate bodies in the various States should also enact laws on prejudgment interest to attain a certainty in law. It also recommends that the laws to be enacted should specify what type of interest rate is applicable – compound or simple interest – to avoid the problems being faced in other jurisdictions.

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UNILAG Law Review, (2022) Volume 5 Edition 2

About the Author

Attorney at Banwo and Ighodalo. He can be reached at mujibjimoh@yahoo.com