Facts:

The respondent is a customer of the 1st appellant bank and the 2nd appellant is an employee of the 1st appellant. On 26th February 1996, the respondent sent its employee to the Isolo branch of the 1st appellant to pay in some money into its account with the appellant. Armed robbers broke into the bank and stole some of the money already handed over to the 2nd appellant. The 1st appellant refused to credit the account of the respondent with an amount equivalent to the money that was snatched and the respondent instituted an action at the Lagos State High Court against the appellants by which it claimed the sum of N925,000.00 (Nine hundred and twenty five Thousand Naira) only being the amount of money stolen within the defendants’ premises owing to the negligence of the defendants and interest from 26th February 1996 until the whole sum claimed is paid at the rate of 21% per annum or as may be determined by the Court having regard to the prevailing Central Bank of Nigeria Regulations.

The trial court found that the sum of N735,000.00 (Seven hundred and thirty five thousand Naira) which was taken by the armed robbers should have been credited to the respondent’s account and held the 1st appellant liable to pay that sum into the respondent’s account with interest at the rate of 21% per annum from 26th February 1996 until the amount is credited to the respondent’s account. The appellants were dissatisfied with the interest adjudged and appealed.