Justice Dipeolu has vacated the court order freezing GHL Assets over $225.8m First Bank debt.
NewsOnline Nigeria reports that Justice Dehinde Dipeolu of the Federal High Court in Lagos on Wednesday set aside an ex parte Mareva injunction that had frozen the assets of General Hydrocarbons Limited, GHL, a Nigerian oil and gas services company, over a disputed $225.8 million loan debt.
The judge ruled that the injunction conflicted with an existing order issued by a court of equal jurisdiction. He stated that when compared with Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa’s order in Suit No. 1953, the Mareva injunction could not stand and must be vacated.
The court found that First Bank of Nigeria had failed to fully disclose Justice Lewis-Allagoa’s ruling, making the injunction legally incompatible with the earlier order.
The case originated from an ex parte order granted by Justice Dipeolu on December 30, 2024, in Suit No. FHC/L/CS/2378/2024. This order had restricted all commercial banks from releasing or handling any assets or funds belonging to General Hydrocarbons Limited, its affiliates, subsidiaries, or sister companies up to the amount claimed by the plaintiffs.
Additionally, the court had issued a preliminary injunction preventing Nduka Obaigbena, Efe Damilola Obaigbena, and Olabisi Eka Obaigbena—directors of General Hydrocarbons Limited—from transferring or dissipating any of their assets in Nigeria, whether movable or immovable, until a ruling on the Motion on Notice for an interlocutory injunction.
Other respondents in the case included GHL 121 Ltd, Aimonte Nigeria Limited, Calidin Global Resources Limited, CESL Oyo Production BBC Limited (owner of FPSO Tamara Tokoni), CESL Oyo Production O&M Limited, and VITOL SA. Additional respondents were Mercuria Energy Trading SA, Trafigura PTE Limited, Glencore Energy UK Limited, Schlumberger Nigeria Limited, Schlumberger Overseas SA, and Baker Hughes Oilfield Services.
On Friday, January 17, First Bank of Nigeria Limited opposed General Hydrocarbons Limited’s request to lift the asset-freezing order, arguing that it was necessary to recover the $225.8 million loan extended to GHL. The bank had secured the Mareva injunction on December 30, 2024, to freeze the company’s assets and accounts.
The bank’s lawyer, Victor Ogude, urged the court to maintain the order, countering GHL’s claim that the injunction had been obtained through the concealment of critical facts.
However, GHL’s legal counsel, Abiodun Layonu, argued that the bank’s lawsuit amounted to an abuse of court process. He contended that First Bank had failed to disclose a prior ruling by Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa, which had restrained the bank from taking any further recovery action until both parties submitted to arbitration.
Layonu urged the court to dismiss the Mareva injunction, asserting that it had been granted under misleading circumstances and had caused severe financial hardship to General Hydrocarbons Limited.
