A businessman Adeosun Adebayo has filed a N150million suit before an Ogun state High Court sitting at Ijebu- Ode, against the International Breweries Plc, over alleged consumption of contaminated drink, leading to his ill-health.
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Joined as co defendant in the suit, is the Managing Director, Sharelink Proxy Service Ltd, Ijebu-Ode depot.
The claimant, through his lawyer Mr. Wale Ajayi, said that he bought the beer from the second defendant in Ijebu-Ode Ogun State and consumed same on July 20, 2015, after which developed stomach pain, which resulted into vomiting, stooling, shock, hypertension amongst others which led the claimant to admission in hospitals.
Adebayo in his averment said on July 18 2015, he was returning from a journey to Ibadan from Ijebu-Ode Ogun State and then purchased two creates of trophy beer, a product of the first defendant from the second defendant, for consumption.
He said that the claimant bought the drinks while returning from his home town Ijebu-Ode to Ibadan where he had gone to celebrate the annual Muslim festival, from the second defendant’s wholesales stores known as Sharelink Proxy Service Limited Warehouse, Ijebu –Ode, Ogun State.
The claimant also stated that while he was drinking the trophy beer, directly from the bottle, he felt some sediments object and rubbish down his throat and stopped half way to take a closer look at the contents of the trophy beer.
He averred that on a close examination he found out that the bottle of trophy beer contained particles called microbial growth, adding that he emitted the object which was discovered to be decomposed particles.
According to the claimant throughout the midnight till the following morning of 21 July 2015, he developed stomach pain which attracted his family members and households, adding that the quantity of the trophy beer he already consumed gave him so much discomfort which led to incessant spitting and loss of appetite resulting in his inability to take any food or drink that evening.
He further averred that in the afternoon of July 21, he took ill and was rushed to the hospital where he was treated for shock and gastroenteritis.
The claimant also stated that two other unopened trophy beer bottles he purchased on the said date also contained decomposed sediments of particles known as white crystal and microbial growth.
Ajayi said that the trophy beer was tested in the laboratories and the laboratory analysis and investigations carried out by the medical doctors and laboratory, scientists showed that the trophy beer is unfit for human consumption, he said that this was after the analysing of the half consumed trophy and stool of the claimant, from the medical reports of Olabisi Onabanjo University teaching Hospital, Sagamu, Ogun State and All soul medical centre, Ibadan respectively.
“The claimant’s sickness was linked to the substance in the trophy beer consumed by him, his stool was tested alongside the remaining content of the bottle of trophy beer he drank and his ailment was found to be have been caused by the trophy beer. Ajayi said.”
The claimant states that his complaints to the first and second defendants through letters dated 28 July and August 6, 2015, respectively, yielded no positive fruit as the letters were not accorded positive response.
However, the claimant is asking for the sum of N100million, being damages for shock, pain, agony discomfort and sundry inconveniences suffered by the claimant as a result of the defendants’ negligence on account of consumption of contaminated and harmful trophy beer.
He is also asking for the sum of N1, 676,000, being medical expenses borne by the claimant as a result of negligent act of the defendant, bottling and selling contaminated and harmful trophy beer to the claimant.
The claimant is further asking for the sum of N50million, being damages for loss of life expectancy as a result of damages to the health of the claimant and the sum of N5million, professional fee of the claimant’s lawyer.
In its response, the first defendant through his lawyer Mr. Omotayo Adetona denied that the product that was consumed by the claimant is from its brewing facility, adding that if it is from its facility, it must have been tampered with either by the claimant of any other person with a view of making phony claims against the first defendant.
The second defendant through its lawyer Mrs. Theodora Suraju said that on the 18 of July 2015, the first defendant delivered 680 crates of trophy beer to the second defendant and 82 crates of trophy beer with decomposed particles and sediment which was recorded in fill/ linkages column of the returns waybill.
It also said that while the goods were being offloaded from the first defendant’s vehicle and the second defendant’s employee were offloading the goods, customers started purchasing immediately and the claimant was among the first set of customers, who purchased from the new arrivals.
However, at the resumed hearing of the matter, before Justice Sonia Akinbiyi, the claimant’s counsel Ajayi, told the court that they have made several attempt to settle the matter at the Alternative Dispute Resolution by serving the first defendant severally but they did not respond.
Consequently Justice Akinbiyi adjourned the matter to April 6, for continuation of pre-trial conference.
