The Federal High Court in Lagos has asked Enterprise Logistics Speciale Limited, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigeria Inter-Bank solution System Plc (NIBSS), and Avanage Nigeria Limited to reach an amicable solution in a patent infringement claim for ₦98.5 billion.
Justice Deinde Dipeolu issued the directive after declining to begin trial because some of the defendants lacked lawyers.
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 resulting from the refusal to deploy their solution on Nigeria’s payment infrastructure.
Tayo Oyetibo (SAN) represented the plaintiffs in the proceedings, with Jessica Adeola-Ajayi and Esther Bawa, while Olaoluwa Ale-Daniel represented NIBSS.
There were no representatives from the Central Bank of Nigeria, Avanage Nigeria Limited, or the Registrar of Patents and Designs.
Oyetibo informed the court that the matter had been set for trial and that the plaintiffs’ witness was present and ready to testify.
However, in the interests of fairness, fairness Dipeolu ruled that hearing notifications should be issued and served on the absent defendants first.
The judge also drew the parties’ attention to provisions in the Federal High Court Act that allow courts to facilitate amicable conflict resolution.
He then directed the parties to meet and make sincere attempts to address the dispute outside of court.
NIBSS counsel 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 forming a monopoly, which he saw as crucial to the debate.
Oyetibo, on the other hand, contended that the plaintiffs had made significant investments in creating patented innovations that the defendants allegedly attempted to infringe on.
He claimed that the disputed innovations belonged to the second plaintiff, and that the law guaranteed him exclusive use of the inventions.
The plaintiffs, according to the senior advocate, are still open to negotiating a settlement.
In their amended statement of claim, the plaintiffs claimed that beginning in 2011, they developed multiple cash management technologies to modernize Nigeria’s cash handling system and limit the movement of physical currency in the banking industry.
The inventions were categorized 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 about their innovations with the defendants, the CBN issued instructions for the registration and operation of Bank Neutral Cash Hubs, which they claimed largely copied their patented techniques without approval or compensation.
They are requesting that the court proclaim them the exclusive owners of the patented technology and prevent 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 to invalidate the CBN’s Bank Neutral Cash Hubs guidelines.
The monetary claims include ₦500m in general damages for alleged patent infringement against the first and second defendants, ₦200m for alleged breach of a 2015 Non-Disclosure Agreement against NIBSS, and ₦97.8bn for alleged losses due to NIBSS’s refusal to integrate the PillarSalt solution since December 2016.
In its updated defence, NIBSS denied violating any patents or the Non-Disclosure Agreement.
It contended that the plaintiffs sought exclusive rights that would prevent other operators with similar solutions from accessing the national payment infrastructure, which would constitute an illegal restraint of commerce and the formation of a monopoly.
If settlement talks fail, Justice Dipeolu adjourned the case for trial on October 15 and 16, 2026.