The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Olayemi Cardoso, the apex bank itself, and its former legal director have reached a settlement with Melrose General Services over a contempt suit (committal to prison) related to consultancy services associated with a Supreme Court judgment on the Paris Club Refund.
The parties announced the settlement before Justice Muhammad Umar of the Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday.
The legal representatives of the parties, led by Yusuf Ali (SAN) and Chikaosolu Ojukwu (SAN), informed the court of the agreement.
Nairametrics recalls that the referenced Supreme Court judgment concerned the reversal of the forfeiture of N1,222,384,857.84 and N220,000,000 in an appeal filed by Melrose General Services Limited against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
It had been previously reported that in June 2024, the Supreme Court reversed the forfeiture order issued against the company’s funds in a case initiated by the EFCC at the Federal High Court.
Company Lawsuit Against CBN
In case number FHC/ABJ/CS/532/2025, Chikaosolu Ojukwu (SAN) brought a contempt suit before the trial court against the CBN Governor, the CBN Legal Director, the EFCC, and the Minister of Finance.
Ojukwu cited the Supreme Court judgment, stating:
“The appellant’s application (Melrose General Services Limited) to set aside the order of interim forfeiture of the sum of N1,222,384,857.84 in the appellant’s account with Access Bank Plc and N220,000,000.00 in the accounts of the 2nd and 3rd respondents (Wasp Networks and Thebe Wellness) is hereby granted.”
Ojukwu had informed the court, through his filings, that after the judgment was delivered, the EFCC—via the CBN—refunded N1,222,384,857.84 to his client in “partial compliance with the judgment.”
However, he contended that the CBN Governor, Legal Director, and the CBN itself had allegedly failed, refused, or neglected to pay the outstanding balance of N220,000,000.00.
He emphasized that this refusal to obey, enforce, and give effect to the judgment—as directed by the EFCC and the Ministry of Finance—amounts to contempt and undermines the authority of the Supreme Court.
CBN’s Response
Counsel for the CBN Governor, Legal Director, and the CBN (first to third respondents), Abdulfatai Oyedele, Esq., in his notice of preliminary objection and counter-affidavit, had drawn the court’s attention to a letter written to the CBN by Messrs Duale, Ovia & Alex-Adedipe, dated December 12, 2024.
The CBN official argued that the Supreme Court judgment never directed payment of N220,000,000 to the applicant’s account, but rather to the accounts of WASP Network Limited and Thebe Wellness Services (the 2nd and 3rd respondents in the appeal), from which the money had originally been forfeited.
At previous proceedings, Ali assured the court that settlement negotiations were in progress and sought an adjournment to finalize matters, noting that “just N20 million” remained outstanding .
Ojukwu confirmed he had been approached for settlement by the CBN’s lead counsel.
What Transpired in Court
At Monday’s court session, Melrose’s legal team confirmed to the court that a settlement had been reached, as previously indicated by the CBN’s legal team.
“On behalf of the Applicant, we confirm that the 1st to 3rd Respondents and the Applicant have resolved the outstanding issue of payment. This morning, we were informed of the payment of N30,000,000.00 (Thirty Million Naira). In the circumstance, we will be asking to withdraw this suit in the spirit of settlement,” the plaintiff counsel, C. Odum Esq said.
On his part, Ali, said the last time parties appeared before the Court which was on 30th June, 2025, “we indicated that there were moves to resolve the issues between the parties. We are happy to report to the Court that the issues have been resolved.”
- Subsequently, the Melrose legal team, led by Ojukwu, applied to discontinue the case.
- The parties corroborated the development.
After hearing from the lawyers, Justice Umar struck out the case upon notice of withdrawal by Melrose.
Backstory
The EFCC had asserted that an investigation revealed N3.5 billion was allegedly fraudulently paid to Melrose for a purported consultancy job for the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF), classifying it as proceeds of unlawful activity related to the Paris Club refund.
At the Supreme Court, Melrose’s legal team argued the disputed funds were payments for a contractual and consultancy agreement between their client and relevant government stakeholders.
In its majority decision, the Supreme Court sided with the appellant, ruling that the EFCC failed to prove the funds were proceeds of fraud. Consequently, the apex court upheld the appellant’s case and set aside the lower courts’ forfeiture orders.
