Justice Deinde Dipeolu of the Federal High Court, Lagos, has urged parties in the N98.5 billion patent infringement suit filed by Enterprise Logistics Speciale Limited and its Managing Director, Samuel Kolajo, against the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System Plc (NIBSS), Avanage Nigeria Limited and others to explore an amicable settlement before the commencement of trial.
The court declined to begin hearing on Tuesday after observing that the Central Bank of Nigeria, Avanage Nigeria Limited and the Registrar of Patents and Designs were not represented by counsel. Justice Dipeolu consequently directed that hearing notices be served on the absent parties and encouraged all parties to engage in meaningful negotiations in line with the provisions of the Federal High Court Act promoting alternative dispute resolution.
The plaintiffs are seeking approximately N98.5 billion in damages over the alleged infringement of their patented cash management technologies, breach of a 2015 Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA), and losses allegedly arising from the refusal to deploy their PillarSalt Cash Management Solution on Nigeria’s national payment infrastructure.
Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Tayo Oyetibo, who appeared for the plaintiffs, informed the court that their witness was present and ready to testify but maintained that the plaintiffs remain open to settlement discussions. Counsel for NIBSS argued that the payment system operator acts strictly under the regulatory oversight of the CBN and lacks the authority to make unilateral decisions, adding that NIBSS opposed any arrangement that could create a monopoly within the payment system.
The plaintiffs contend that they developed several innovative cash management technologies from 2011, including the Mobile Smart Deposit, Mobile Cash Sorting and Processing Device, PillarSalt Cash Supply Chain, Cash Recycling and Retail Cash Management Solution, and the PillarSalt Cash and Terminal Management System, all protected under three patent certificates issued pursuant to the Patents and Designs Act.
They allege that after disclosing their innovations to the defendants, the CBN introduced the Guidelines for the Registration and Operation of Bank Neutral Cash Hubs (BNCH), which allegedly replicate their patented technologies without consent or compensation. They further accuse the CBN of commercialising their inventions while failing to protect their intellectual property rights.
Among the reliefs sought are declarations recognising them as the exclusive owners of the patented technologies, orders restraining the defendants from using the inventions without their consent, a directive compelling NIBSS to activate the PillarSalt solution on the Nigeria Central Switch within 30 days, and an order nullifying the CBN’s BNCH Guidelines.
The plaintiffs are also claiming N500 million in general damages for alleged patent infringement, N200 million for the alleged breach of the Non-Disclosure Agreement, and N97.8 billion for losses allegedly suffered following NIBSS’s refusal to integrate and activate the PillarSalt solution since December 2016.
NIBSS, however, denied all allegations in its amended statement of defence, insisting that it neither infringed any patent nor breached the Non-Disclosure Agreement. It maintained that the plaintiffs were seeking exclusive rights that would unlawfully prevent other operators with similar technologies from accessing the national payment infrastructure, a move it described as contrary to regulatory guidelines and capable of creating a monopoly.
Justice Dipeolu subsequently adjourned the matter to October 15 and 16, 2026, for the commencement of trial if the parties fail to reach an out-of-court settlement.
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