AMINA ADAMU AUGIE, J.C.A. (Delivering the Leading Judgment): The Respondent as Plaintiff at the Abeokuta High Court of Ogun State, instituted the action that culminated in this appeal by filing an Undefended Writ of Summons supported by a 14-paragraph Affidavit and an Exhibit - "A".
The case for the Respondent is that the Appellant who was his friend approached him sometime in 1988 to stand surety for him in respect of a loan/overdraft facility of N30, 000.00 he proposed to take from United Bank for Africa Ltd (UBA). The Respondent agreed to surrender the deed of title to his landed property at Ijeje, Abeokuta, on which the Bank subsequently prepared a legal mortgage. Sometime in 1992, one Mr. Aladeika of UBA complained to the Respondent about the Appellant's failure to service the loan and warned him that his property might be put on auction for sale to satisfy the debt owed by the Appellant. The Respondent informed the Appellant about this and later that year, the Bank got a lawyer …