Crime
Consultant Files Contempt Charge Against Cardoso Over ‘Failure’ To Return N220m: Paris Club Refund
Consultant Files Contempt Charge Against Cardoso Over ‘Failure’ To Return N220m: Paris Club Refund
Consultant files contempt charge against Cardoso over ‘failure’ to return N220m: Paris Club refund. 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).
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.
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.
At the hearing on April 10, Segun Fiki, who represented Melrose, confirmed that all parties — except the ministry of finance—had responded.

Cardoso
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.
Crime
EFCC Arrests Serial Fraudster Over Alleged N20m Visa Fraud In Enugu
EFCC Arrests Serial Fraudster Over Alleged N20m Visa Fraud In Enugu
EFCC arrests serial fraudster over alleged N20m visa fraud in Enugu. He said the suspect would be charged to court as soon as investigations were concluded.
Its spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, said this in a statement on Monday in Abuja.
Mr Oyewale said the suspect was facing interrogation for allegedly obtaining N19.9 million from three victims under the pretence of assisting them to process visas.
He listed the three petitioners as Osmond Ugwu, Ugwu Chidubem, and Amadiani Chinedu, who alleged that they were defrauded by the suspect.
According to him, Mr Ugwu claimed that he met the suspect in 2018 when he was planning to travel abroad.
“The suspect reportedly presented himself as a visa agent, and lured him with an offer of a Red-cross sponsored visa to the United States of America at the cost of N1.8 million, excluding his flight ticket.
“Ugwu allegedly paid N4 million for the arrangement as well as other payments, which brought the total sum the suspect collected from him to N11.8 million.”
Mr Oyewale also said that the second petitioner, Mr Chidubem, claimed that the suspect conspired with his friend to defraud him of the sum of N5.9 million.
“The suspect assured Chidubem that he will procure genuine documents for him to further pursue his football career abroad.
“The third victim, Chinedu, in his own petition alleged that the suspect defrauded him to the tune of N2.2 million to procure a work permit and an accompanying visa to enable him to migrate to Australia.

EFCC
“Preliminary investigations revealed that the 44-year-old suspect, who is an electrical engineer, was parading himself as a visa processing agent who helps people to migrate abroad easily.
“It was also discovered that he is not a licensed travel agent,” Mr Oyewale said.
He added that the suspect would be charged to court as soon as investigations were concluded.
Crime
Court Sentences Former Accountant-General Nwabuoku To 72 Years In Prison Over N868m Fraud
Court Sentences Former Accountant-General Nwabuoku To 72 Years In Prison Over N868m Fraud
Former accountant-general Nwabuoku to 72 years in prison. Delivering judgment on Monday, James Omotosho, presiding judge, held that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had proved its case against Nwabuoku.
Nwabuoku was arraigned on a nine-count amended charge bordering on money laundering and fraud to the tune of N868.4 million.
He was granted bail in the sum of N500 million with two sureties in like sum.
In the charge marked FHC/ABJ/CR/240/2024, the anti-graft agency accused Nwabuoku of conspiring with several companies, including Temeeo Synergy Concept Limited, Turge Global Investment Limited, Laptev Bridge Limited, and Arafura Transnational Afro Limited, to convert funds suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities.
The alleged offence, according to the EFCC, contravenes section 18 of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 (as amended by Act No. 1 of 2012), and is punishable under section 15(3) of the Act.
The commission said Nwabuoku committed the offences while serving as the director of finance and accounts in the ministry of defence between 2019 and 2021.
The former acting accountant general had filed a no-case submission which was dismissed by the court in November 2025.

Court
Nwabuoku was appointed acting accountant-general of the federation on May 20, 2022, by then President Muhammadu Buhari, following the suspension of Ahmed Idris over alleged N80 billion fraud.
But Nwabuoku was removed from the position in July 2022, barely weeks after assuming office, following reports that he was under EFCC investigation.
Crime
Contractor Julius Ejiogu Bags Two Years Imprisonment For Forgery
Contractor Julius Ejiogu Bags Two Years Imprisonment For Forgery
Justice F. A. Olubanjo of the Federal High Court sitting in Asaba, Delta State has convicted and sentenced Julius Ejiogu, a contractor to two years imprisonment for forgery.
The convict was arraigned on a three -count charge of conspiracy, forgery and uttering of false document on March 23, 2021 by the Benin Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.
Upon arraignment, he pleaded not guilty to the charge setting the stage for trial.
The charge reads: “That you Julius Eljiogu and one Engr. E. Expert (at large) on or about the 2nd of August 2013, at Delta State within the jurisdiction of this honourable did conspires amongst yourselves to committed felony to wit: make a document titled Award of Contract for the Construction of Obudu-operation Road in Udu L.G.A. Delta State dated 2nd August 2013 on a letterhead paper on the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, purported to have been issued or emanated from NDDC for the award of Contract which you knew to be false and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 3(6) of the Miscellaneous Offence Act Cap M17 of the Revised Edition (Laws of the Federation of Nigeria) Act 2007 and punishable under Section 3 (1)(C) of the same Act.”
In the course of the trial, prosecution counsel, K.Y. Bello called four witnesses and tendered several documents which were admitted by the court while the defendant testified as sole witness for his case.

Jail
Justice Olubanjo in his judgment (on Thursday January 15, 2026) found the defendant guilty on count one of the charge but discharged and acquitted him on count two and three . The judge consequently sentenced the defendant to two years imprisonment with an option of N1 million fine.
The convict’s road to jail began when he purportedly got a letter for the award of Contract for the Construction of Obudu-Oleri Road in Udu Local Government Area, Delta State from one Engr. Eshitt of the Niger Delta Development Commission. He went ahead to sell the contract to the petitioner for N2 million only for him to discover that the said contract award was fake.
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