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PARIS CLUB REFUND: CONSULTANT FILES CONTEMPT CHARGE AGAINST CBN GOVERNOR, CARDOSO, OVER FAILURE TO RETURN N220M
Olayemi Cardoso, the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and Kofo Salam-Alada, the apex bank’s director of legal services, are facing contempt proceedings for allegedly failing to fully comply with a supreme court judgment that ordered the release of funds previously forfeited in a case involving Melrose General Services Limited.
Inyang Ekwo, judge of a federal high court in Abuja, has fixed June 4 to hear the application filed by Melrose General Services Limited, a firm involved in the Paris Club refund.
Melrose General Services is one of the firms linked to the controversial Paris Club refund– a settlement involving payments to consultants engaged by the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) to help secure reimbursements from the federal government.
SUPREME COURT RULING
In June 2024, the supreme court overturned the interim forfeiture of N1.22 billion and N220 million, which had been frozen following an investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
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The apex court ruled in favour of Melrose, stating that the EFCC failed to prove the funds were proceeds of fraud.
The court ordered the release of the N1,222,384,857.84 in Melrose’s bank account and the N220 million paid by the company to Wasp Networks and Thebe Wellness as a loan and investment.
CONTEMPT PROCEEDINGS
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In the application brought before the federal high court, Melrose claims that despite the ruling of the supreme court, only the N1.22 billion has been refunded, while the outstanding N220 million remains unpaid.
Consequently, the company, through its counsel, Chikaosolu Ojukwu, filed a contempt suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/532/2025 against Cardoso, Salam-Alada, the EFCC, and the minister of finance.
Ojukwu argued that the defendants’ failure to fully comply with the judgment amounts to contempt of court.
On March 27, 2025, Ekwo granted Melrose permission to serve contempt notices (Forms 48 and 49) on Cardoso and Salam-Alada and gave all parties seven days to respond.
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At the hearing on April 10, Segun Fiki, who represented Melrose, confirmed that all parties — except the ministry of finance—had responded.
Abdulfatai Oyedele, counsel to the CBN, filed a preliminary objection and a counter-affidavit. He argued that the supreme court did not order the N220 million to be paid to Melrose but rather to the original recipients — Wasp Network Limited and Thebe Wellness Services.
Oyedele said solicitors for Wasp Network had requested payment of N200 million, while Thebe Wellness had yet to lay claim to their N20 million share. He insisted that the CBN had complied with the judgment and committed no wrongdoing.
M.A. Babatunde, counsel to the EFCC, filed a motion for misjoinder, arguing that the agency should not be a party to the contempt suit.
