38. Allegation of non-payment of Federal Mortgage contribution valued at 2
Billion Naira:
The Applicants under this head are seeking a compensation/refund of the
mortgage contribution by the Applicants valued at 2 Billion Naira. The Applicants
attached a Certified True Copy (CTC) passbook of the Mortgage contribution of
Attah Idowu David dated 10th March 2013 with particulars of contributions on
pages 440-458 of the Originating application wit; opening balance of 261.25 Naira
in November 1993 and closing balance of 264,964.42 Naira in December 2010. It is
noteworthy that while this document is indicative that a mortgage contribution
scheme existed, it is not sufficient to prove evidence of mortgage contribution by all
the 17,101 Applicants. Furthermore being a voluntary contributory scheme, all the
Applicants may not necessarily subscribe to the scheme neither would they have
contributed the same amount.
39. Considering that the burden of proof is ordinarily on the person who asserts,
and in the light of the fact that mortgage scheme is voluntary. To succeed in this
claim, the Applicants are required to exhibit the specific staff who subscribed to the
scheme and the total amount that has accrued to each contributor. Mortgage
scheme is like a specialised Banking account in which every contributor like Attah
Idowu David has a record in form of a passbook detailing all their transactions with
relevant dates and amount contributed. It is the understanding of the Court that
all Applicants who are contributors to the scheme should have the custody of their
records as in the case of ATTAH IDOWU DAVID whose records were exhibited in the
pleas of the Applicant. The court is not entitled to assume that all the Applicants
are contributors to the mortgage scheme. In the absence of a list of specific
contributors and the total amount contributed, the Court is unable to award the
claim for 2 Billion Naira compensation as the Applicants have not proved their case.
The claim of the Applicant for the refund of 2 billion naira therefore fails and the
Court so holds.
40. Allegation of non-payment of life insurance entitlement:
The Applicants claim that they are entitled to workman compensation under the
life insurance scheme worth 17,639 Billion Naira at the premium of 1 million Naira
per staff details of which was attached at page 436 and 500 of the originating
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