By Abiola Olawale
The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Olayemi Cardoso, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun and the CBN’s Director of Legal Services, Kofo Salam-Alada, are embroiled in a high-stake legal battle.
This is as a consulting firm, Melrose General Services Limited, has filed a contempt suit against them at the Federal High Court in Abuja, alleging non-compliance with a Supreme Court judgment.
The case, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/532/2025, centres around an N220 million dispute tied to the controversial Paris Club refund.
The Paris Club refund saga involved payments to consultants who reportedly facilitated reimbursements for the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) from the federal government.
Melrose General Services, one of the firms allegedly linked to this settlement, had secured a Supreme Court ruling in June 2024.
The apex court had overturned a prior forfeiture order, directing the release of frozen funds, including N1.22 billion in Melrose’s account and N220 million transferred as loans and investments to Wasp Networks and Thebe Wellness.
Despite the ruling, Melrose alleged that while the CBN refunded N1.22 billion, the outstanding N220 million remains unpaid nearly a year later.
The firm, represented by counsel Chikaosolu Ojukwu (SAN), argued that this alleged failure constituted contempt of court and undermined the Supreme Court’s authority.
The firm also contended that partial compliance undermines the authority of the Supreme Court.
In its defence, the CBN’s legal team, led by Abdulfatai Oyedele, claimed that the Supreme Court directed payment of the N220m to the original accounts of Wasp Network Limited and Thebe Wellness Services, not to Melrose.
Oyedele further argued that Wasp Network had requested N200m, while Thebe Wellness had yet to claim N20m.
The EFCC, represented by M.A. Babatunde, filed a motion for misjoinder, asserting it should not be a party to the case.
Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court in Abuja will resume hearing on the matter on June 4, 2025, to determine whether the CBN and its officials willfully disobeyed the Supreme Court’s directive, or if their actions are justified based on the interpretation of the said judgment.
The Paris Club refund disputes involve billions of dollars repaid to Nigerian states and local governments following negotiations to correct over-deductions made to foreign creditors.
It would be recalled that the EFCC had arraigned aides of former President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki over the alleged diversion of the sum of N19bn from the N522.74bn Paris Club refund during the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.
The Federal Government had, in December 2016, approved the sum of N522.74bn to be paid to the 36 states of the federation as part of the reimbursement of the over-deduction on the Paris Club loan from 1995 to 2002.
However, the EFCC under Ibrahim Magu, had claimed that the loan refunds were illegally diverted through the account of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) by the CBN.
The anti-graft agency had maintained then that its investigation revealed that following receipt of the fund, the NGF, in alleged connivance with Saraki as its chairman, remitted huge sums of money to private consultants, who eventually laundered about N19bn. It further alleged that a sum of N3.5bn was lodged into Melrose General Services account.
EFCC then arraigned Gbenga Makanjuola, former Deputy Chief of Staff to Saraki, for alleged fraud amounting to N3.5billion before Justice Babs O. Kuewumi of the Federal High Court, Lagos, on an amended 11-count charge bordering on alleged conspiracy, accepting cash payment beyond acceptable threshold and money laundering to the said amount.
Makanjuola was charged alongside Kolawole Shittu and pleaded not guilty to the charges preferred against them.
On April 27, 2018, a Federal High Court in Lagos, presided over by Justice Cecilia Olatoregun, similarly ordered the final forfeiture of the said money to the federal government.
Dissatisfied with the verdict of Justice Olatoregun, Melrose General Services approached the appellate court for redress, asking it to set aside the pronouncement of the lower court.
In June 2019, the Court of Appeal in Lagos dismissed the appeal and affirmed the request of EFCC for the final forfeiture of the money. It further held that Melrose’s appeal lacked merit and ordered the firm to pay N100,000 to the EFCC.
The appellate court also held that Melrose could not show that the said funds were lawfully earned by it. Justice Tijjani Abubakar, who wrote the lead judgment, added that section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud Act, 2006, which the EFCC relied on to seek forfeiture of the said funds was constitutional.
Justice E. Tobi and Justice O. A. Obaseki-Adejumo, both of whom concurred with the verdict, also agreed that the company was not denied a fair hearing in the matter.
However, delivering judgement in June 2024, a Supreme Court panel led by Justice Akomaye Agim not only set aside the judgments of the lower courts and dismissed the case in its entirety, it also ruled in favour of the appellant, Melrose General Services.
