GHL vs FirstBank: Court vacates Mareva Injunction, denies Nduka Obaigbena’s request to strike out case  

Justice D.I. Dipeolu delivered the ruling following a motion on notice filed by GHL’s legal team against First Bank of Nigeria Limited and FBN Quest Trustees Limited.

Naijaonpoint previously reported that the court’s earlier interim decision followed allegations of unpaid loans totaling $225.8 million, owed to First Bank.

General Hydrocarbons, an oil and gas company, is owned by Nduka Obaigbena, the publisher and founder of ThisDay Newspapers and Arise TV.

The company is listed as the operator of OML 120, an oil-producing block in Nigeria.

The court had initially directed all major commercial banks and financial institutions in Nigeria to freeze the defendants’ accounts and restrict access to funds or assets up to the claim amount, pending further legal proceedings.

The court order partly reads:   

“This suit revolves around share structure, Deed of All Assets Debenture, Deed of Assignment of Insurances, Amendment and Restatement Deed of Assignment of Contracts and Receivables, Deed of Account Charge, and Amendment and Restatement Deed of Account Charge,” the judge stated.

He further observed that the second order granted by Justice Allagoa restrained FBN from:

The judge ruled that, given these facts, First Bank had been restrained from making any calls or demands or taking any steps concerning GHL’s operation of OML 120 until the arbitration was concluded.

“Although the plaintiff disclosed that GHL obtained preservative orders to abide by the resolution of the dispute submitted to arbitration, the plaintiff(FBN) ought to have attached the preservative order,” the judge stated.

Despite this, the court disagreed with GHL’s jurisdictional argument, affirming that the court was legally empowered to have issued the interim Mareva orders on 30 December 2024.

“Based on all of my findings above, Defendant/Applicant’s Motion on Notice dated 13 January 2025 succeeds. The Mareva Order of 30 December 2024 is hereby set aside,” the court ruled.

Additionally, the court overruled the motion by Obaigbena and other defendants in the case that sought an order striking out or dismissing First Bank’s suit for lack of jurisdiction or for being an abuse of court process.

The court stressed that the FBN motion was not an abuse of court process, however, the Mareva orders is set aside in line with the court’s position on the GHL’s motion.

The matter has now been adjourned to 19 February 2025 to allow all parties to respond to the substantive suit.

The matter has now been adjourned to 19 February 2025 to allow all parties to respond to the substantive suit.