Appeal Court overturns N38.8bn Paris Club refund award against CBN

THE Court of Appeal in Abuja has quashed a N38,878,451,742.22 judgement earlier granted against the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), bringing a major twist to the long-running dispute over consultancy fees tied to the Paris Club refund.

In a unanimous decision delivered on February 20, the appellate court set aside the 2022 ruling of the Federal High Court, which had awarded the sum to a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Joe Agi.

Mr Agi had approached the federal high court in 2017, suing the minister of finance, the Incorporated Trustees of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), and the attorneys-general of the 36 states. He claimed that he was entitled to 20 percent of the Paris Club refund as consultancy fees.

The trial court ruled in his favour in 2022, a decision that prompted immediate appeals from the Nigeria Governors’ Forum and the various state attorneys-general, who challenged both the legal basis and the scope of the award.

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After securing judgement, Mr Agi moved to enforce the decision by initiating garnishee proceedings. He obtained a garnishee order nisi against the CBN as part of efforts to recover the awarded sum. Although the apex bank objected to the proceedings, the lower court proceeded to make the order absolute on October 18, 2022.

The CBN, alongside the 36 state attorneys-general, subsequently filed appeals contesting both the substantive judgement and the garnishee orders, urging the appellate court to nullify the decisions.

In its verdict, the court of appeal held that the federal high court lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the case in the first place. According to the appellate court, the claim was essentially a debt recovery matter and did not fall within the exclusive jurisdiction of the federal high court as outlined under Section 251 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

The court also found that Mr Agi lacked the requisite locus standi to institute the action, further weakening the validity of the original judgement.

Having resolved the issue of jurisdiction, the appellate court allowed the substantive appeals and declared the garnishee appeals academic.

The ruling effectively cancels the enforcement actions taken against the CBN and frees the institution from liability exceeding N38.8 billion in the dispute over consultancy fees linked to the Paris Club refund.