CBN Governor Reach Out of Court Settlement Agreement with Consultant in Committal Litigation

The parties involved in committal claim over forfeiture of monies lodged in an account have disclosed their settlement terms before Justice Muhammad Umar of the Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday.

 

The counsel representing the parties, led by Yusuf Ali (SAN) and Chikaosolu Ojukwu (SAN), apprised the court of the agreement.

 

Nairametrics recalls that the Supreme Court judgment in question pertained to the overturning of the forfeiture of N1,222,384,857.84 and N220,000,000 in an appeal lodged by Melrose General Services Limited against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

 

Earlier reports indicated that in June 2024, the Supreme Court annulled the forfeiture directive concerning the company’s assets in a lawsuit initiated by the EFCC at the Federal High Court.

 

Litigation Against CBN

In case number FHC/ABJ/CS/532/2025, Chikaosolu Ojukwu (SAN) filed a contempt suit before the trial court against the CBN Governor, the CBN Legal Director, the EFCC, and the Minister of Finance.

 

Ojukwu referenced the Supreme Court judgment, stating:

 

“The appellant’s petition (Melrose General Services Limited) to rescind the interim forfeiture order 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 approved.”

 

Ojukwu had informed the court, through his filings, that subsequent to the judgment, the EFCC—through the CBN—reimbursed N1,222,384,857.84 to his client in “partial fulfillment of the judgment.”

 

However, he argued that the CBN Governor, Legal Director, and the CBN itself had allegedly failed, refused, or neglected to remit the remaining balance of N220,000,000.00.

 

He underscored that this refusal to comply, implement, and execute the judgment—as instructed by the EFCC and the Ministry of Finance—constitutes contempt and undermines the authority of the Supreme Court.

 

Counsel for the CBN Governor, Legal Director, and the CBN (first to third respondents), Abdulfatai Oyedele, in his notice of preliminary objection and counter-affidavit, highlighted a letter addressed to the CBN by Messrs Duale, Ovia & Alex-Adedipe, dated December 12, 2024.

 

The CBN representative contended that the Supreme Court judgment did not direct the payment of N220,000,000 to the applicant’s account, but instead to the accounts of WASP Network Limited and Thebe Wellness Services (the 2nd and 3rd respondents in the appeal), from which the funds had originally been forfeited.

 

During prior proceedings, Ali assured the court that settlement discussions were underway and requested an adjournment to finalize matters, noting that “merely N20 million” remained unresolved.

 

Ojukwu confirmed he had been approached for settlement by the CBN’s lead counsel.

 

At Monday’s court session, Melrose’s legal team affirmed to the court that a settlement had been reached, as previously indicated by the CBN’s legal team.

 

“On behalf of the Applicant, we affirm that the 1st to 3rd Respondents and the Applicant have resolved the outstanding payment issue. This morning, we were informed of the payment of N30,000,000.00 (Thirty Million Naira). In light of this, we request to withdraw this suit in the spirit of settlement,” the plaintiff counsel, C. Odum Esq stated.

 

Ali, on his part, stated that during the last court appearance on June 30th, 2025, “we indicated that efforts were being made to resolve the issues between the parties. We are pleased to report to the Court that the issues have been resolved.”

 

Consequently, the Melrose legal team, led by Ojukwu, prayed to discontinue the case. The parties corroborated the development.

 

Following the lawyers’ submissions, Justice Umar dismissed the case upon notice of withdrawal by Melrose.

 

The EFCC had alleged that an investigation revealed N3.5 billion was fraudulently paid to Melrose for a purported consultancy job for the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF), categorizing it as proceeds of unlawful activity related to the Paris Club refund.

 

At the Supreme Court, Melrose’s legal team argued the contested funds were payments for a contractual and consultancy agreement between their client and pertinent government stakeholders.

 

In its majority ruling, the Supreme Court sided with the appellant, concluding that the EFCC failed to substantiate the funds as proceeds of fraud.

 

Consequently, the apex court upheld the appellant’s case and nullified the lower courts’ forfeiture orders.