The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja on Wednesday reversed the Federal High Court judgment that had ordered the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to pay Kasmal International Services N579,130,698,440 for its involvement in stamp duty collection.
Justice Adebukola Banjoko, delivering the majority judgment (2-1) of the Appeal Court, sided with the CBN’s legal team in overturning the lower court decision.
Banjoko stated that Kasmal had no legal right to be engaged by the Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) for stamp duty collection from the outset.
The Federal High Court judgment, delivered on Friday, October 11, 2024, by Justice Inyang Ekwo, had ordered the CBN to pay over N579 billion plus interest to Kasmal within a specified period.
The contested judgment also included a 10% annual interest rate on the judgment sum from January 1, 2015, to January 31, 2020.