A Federal High Court in Lagos has asked parties in a ₦98.5 billion patent infringement litigation involving Enterprise Logistics Speciale Limited, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System Plc (NIBSS), and Avanage Nigeria Limited to seek an amicable resolution.
Justice Deinde Dipeolu issued the directive after rejecting to proceed with the trial due to the defendants’ lack of representation.
The plaintiffs, Enterprise Logistics Speciale Limited and its Managing Director, Samuel Kolajo, are seeking damages for alleged infringement of their patented cash management technology, breach of a Non-Disclosure Agreement, and alleged losses caused by the refusal to deploy their solution on Nigeria’s national payment infrastructure.
Tayo Oyetibo (SAN) appeared for the plaintiffs, together with Jessica Adeola-Ajayi and Esther Bawa, while Olaoluwa Ale-Daniel represented NIBSS.
The Central Bank of Nigeria, Avanage Nigeria Limited, and the Registrar of Patents and Designs were not present.
Oyetibo notified the court that the matter had been set for trial and that the plaintiffs’ witness was present and prepared to testify.
However, Justice Dipeolu ruled that in the interest of justice, hearing notifications should be issued and served on the absent defendants first.
The judge also drew the parties’ attention to provisions of the Federal High Court Act that allow courts to promote amicable dispute resolution.
He then urged the parties to meet and make sincere efforts to resolve the issue outside of court.
Counsel for NIBSS stated that the payment system operator is subject to the CBN’s regulatory control and cannot make unilateral choices.
He contended that NIBSS was opposed to establishing a monopoly, which he claimed was crucial to the dispute.
Oyetibo, on the other hand, contended that the plaintiffs had made significant investments in creating patented ideas that the defendants allegedly attempted to infringe.
He claimed that the disputed innovations belonged to the second plaintiff and that the law allowed him to exclusive use of the inventions.
The senior advocate also stated that the plaintiffs were still eager to negotiate a settlement.
In their amended statement of claim, the plaintiffs claimed that they developed multiple cash management systems beginning in 2011 to modernize Nigeria’s cash handling system and limit the movement of physical currency in the banking industry.
They referred to the inventions as Mobile Smart Deposit, Mobile Cash Sorting and Processing Device, PillarSalt Cash Supply Chain, Cash Recycling and Retail Cash Management Solution, and PillarSalt Cash and Terminal Management System.
They stated that the inventions were covered by three patent certificates obtained under the Patents and Designs Act.
The plaintiffs claimed that after sharing information of their innovations with the defendants, the CBN issued guidelines for the registration and operation of Bank Neutral Cash Hubs that largely copied their patented techniques without approval or compensation.
They are requesting that the court proclaim them exclusive owners of the patented technology and prohibit the defendants from using them without written approval.
They also want the court to order NIBSS to activate their PillarSalt Cash Management Solution on the Nigeria Central Switch within 30 days and overturn the CBN’s Bank Neutral Cash Hubs rules.
The monetary claims include ₦500m in general damages for alleged patent infringement against the first and second defendants, ₦200m against NIBSS for alleged breach of a 2015 Non-Disclosure Agreement, and ₦97.8bn for alleged losses arising from NIBSS’s refusal to integrate the PillarSalt solution since December 2016.
In its updated defence, NIBSS denied infringing any patents or breaching the Non-Disclosure Agreement.
It contended that the plaintiffs sought exclusive rights that would prevent other operators with identical solutions from accessing the national payment system, which would constitute an illegal restraint of commerce and create a monopoly.
Justice Dipeolu postponed the trial until October 15 and 16, 2026, if settlement talks fail.
