COURT OF APPEAL QUASHES ₦38.8 BILLION JUDGMENT AGAINST THE CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA IN PARIS CLUB REFUND DISPUTE

The Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, on Friday, February 20, 2026, set aside and dismissed a landmark ₦38,878,451,742.22 judgment earlier entered by the Federal High Court in favour of Mr Joe Agi, SAN, over alleged consultancy fees arising from the Paris Club Refund.

The suit, originally filed in 2017 by Joe Agi, SAN, against the Honourable Minister of Finance, the Incorporated Trustees of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, and the Attorneys-General of the 36 States, claimed 20% of the Paris Club Refund as consultancy fees. Judgment was entered in 2022, prompting appeals by the Nigeria Governors’ Forum and the Attorneys-General of the 36 States.

Following the judgment, Joe Agi, SAN, moved swiftly to enforce the judgment through garnishee proceedings, securing a Garnishee Order Nisi against the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Despite objections by the CBN, the Federal High Court proceeded to make the order absolute on October 18, 2022, prompting the CBN and the Attorneys-General of the 36 States to file appeals in respect of the garnishee proceedings.

In a unanimous decision delivered on Friday, February 20, 2026, the Appellate Court held that the Federal High Court lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the suit, holding that debt recovery falls outside the exclusive jurisdiction granted to the Lower Court, the Federal High Court, as provided under Section 251 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended. The Court further held that the Appellant, Mr Agi, SAN, lacked the legal standing (locus standi) to institute the action.

Consequently, the Court of Appeal allowed the appeal. Counsel to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Prof Fabian Ajogwu, SAN of KENNA LP and O.M. Atoyebi, SAN, welcomed the Judgment, describing it as a major legal victory for the CBN that frees the Bank from an enforcement liability exceeding ₦38.8 billion.