The Federal High Court in Lagos has granted an order of Mareva injunction restraining all commercial banks and financial institutions operating in Nigeria from releasing any money or assets up to the sum of $225,802,379.69 to General Hydrocarbons Limited, being the outstanding loan owed First Bank Nigeria as of September 30, 2024.

The court order was sequel to a suit that had First Bank of Nigeria Limited and FBNQuest Trustees Limited as the first and second plaintiffs while General Hydrocarbons Limited and 15 others were listed as defendants.

In the suit marked FHC/L/CS/2378/2024, FBN claimed that the $225.8m was the outstanding on the loan obtained by the defendants in respect of Oil Mining Lease 120.

The suit lists the directors of General Hydrocarbons as Mr Nduka Obaigbena, Efe Damilola Obaigbena and Olabisi Obaigbena

The plaintiffs also sought an order granting it leave to serve the originating summons in the suit on the 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th and 15th defendants through courier service and mandate them to enter appearance before the court within 30 days from the date of service of the originating process.

The order, sighted by The PUNCH, stops banks from releasing or dealing with any monies and or whatsoever assets due to the first defendant from any account maintained by the first defendant, their agents, privies, subsidiaries and or sister companies.

Justice D.I. Dipeolu, who granted the order, also restrained the 8th to 16th defendants and any other third parties from dealing with any assets and receivables related or connected with OML 120 “without depositing the proceeds thereof to the first defendant’s account in the first plaintiff’s bank, pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice for interlocutory injunction.”

The judge also mandated all commercial banks and other financial institutions operating in Nigeria “to file and serve on the plaintiffs/applicants’ solicitors within seven days of serving this court order on them, an affidavit disclosing the sum standing to the first to fourth defendants’ credit with a duly certified statement of accounts of the first to fourth defendants/respondents in their respective custody from the date of its opening till the date this order is served on the banks.”

Dipeolu equally ordered the 8th to 13th defendants “to file and serve on the plaintiffs/applicants a statement disclosing the quantum of products lifted from the 8th defendant or OML 120 since the commencement of production of OML 120.”

The court restrained the first, second, third and fourth defendants and their agents, proxies or allies “from transferring and or dissipating, diminishing or dealing with any interest in the first defendant’s assets including but not limited to crude stock, insurance policies, all forms of stock of shares, all forms of receivables and contracts which have been pledged as securities for the loan facilities granted by the first plaintiff to the first defendant, pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice for interlocutory injunction.”

The court also restrained the second to fourth defendants, who are directors of General Hydrocarbons, “from transferring and or dissipating any interest in their assets wherever located in Nigeria, movable or immovable, pending the determination of the motion on notice for interlocutory injunction.”

The court further ordered, “That an order of mareva injunction is granted restraining all the commercial banks in Nigeria and all other financial institutions operating in Nigeria from releasing or dealing in any manner whatsoever with any and all monies and/or whatsoever assets due to the 2nd to 4th defendants froam any account whatsoever maintained by the 2nd to 4th defendants and also all accounts associated with BVN 22220558365 (second defendant), 22363940584 (3rd defendant), and 22363940584 (fourth defendant), with any of the said banks wherever situate up to the amount of the plaintiffs/applicant’s total claim in the sum of US$225,802,379.69 being the indebtedness on the first defendant’s account with the plaintiffs/applicants as at 30th September 2024, in respect of the loan facilities granted to the first defendant by the first plaintiff/applicant pending the hearing and determination of motion on notice for interlocutory injunction.

“That an order of interim injunction is granted restraining the first to fourth defendants, agents, servants, officers, privies, subsidiaries, sister companies or any other person natural or artificial howsoever called under the control of the fifth to fourth defendants from transferring or otherwise dealing with any and all of the monies standing to the credit of the first to fourth defendants in any account whatsoever maintained by the first to fourth defendants with any of the aforementioned banks wherever situate up to the amount of the plaintiff/applicant’s claim of the total sum of US$225,802,379.69 being the indebtedness on the defendant’s account with the first plaintiff/applicant as of 30th September 2024 in respect of the loan facilities granted to the first defendant by the first plaintiff/applicant, pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice for interlocutory injunction.”

The court further ordered, “That leave is granted to the plaintiffs to issue the originating summons in respect of the 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 15th defendants for service outside Nigeria concurrently with the originating summons for service within Nigeria.

“That leave is granted to the plaintiffs/ applicants to serve the originating summons in this suit on the 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 15th defendants by serving same through courier service, DHL at the 10th defendant’s address at Place des Begues 3, 1201 & 1211 Geneva, Switzerland; at the 11th defendant’s address at 50 Rue Due Rhone 1204 Geneva Switzerland; 12th defendant’s address at 10 Collyer Quay, Ocean Financial Centre, Singapore; 13th defendant’s address at 18 Hanover Square, London, England; 15th defendant’s address at 555 Phaholyothim road, 17th floor, Rasa tower, Chatuchak, Bangkok, Thailand.

“That the 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 15th defendants are to enter appearance before this Honourable Court within 30 days from the date of service of the originating process.”

The judge, however, ordered FBN to file an undertaking to indemnify the defendants “if these orders ought not to have been granted.”

The case was adjourned to January 20 for hearing of the motion on notice.

Other defendants in the case include Aimonte Nigeria Limited, Calidin Global Resources Limited, CESL Oyo Production BBS Limited, CESL Oyo Production O & MM Limited, Vitol SA, Mercuria Energy Trading SA, Trafigura PTE Limited, Glencore Energy UK Limited, Schlumberger Nigeria Limited, Schlumbberger Overseas SA, Nduka Obaigbena.

However, in a letter to Yemi Cardoso, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, dated 7 November 2024 and seen by Premium Times, Obaigbena explained how, in 2020, he facilitated a meeting between Oba Otudeko, then Chairman of FBN Holdings, and Mele Kyari, Managing Director of NNPC Limited.

“His problem was that the NNPC, under the late Maikanti Baru, then GMD of NNPC, had refused to sign the security documents for the now bad, non-performing loan to Atlantic Energy Drilling Concept Nigeria Limited (Atlantic Energy) for OML 26, OML 42, OML 30, and OML 34. These were part of separate Strategic Alliance Agreements between Atlantic Energy and NPDC Limited, which the NNPC claimed was a fraudulent scheme orchestrated by the then Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, to defraud the Federal Government,” Obaigbena stated in the letter.

Following a series of meetings between First Bank and General Hydrocarbons, an agreement was reportedly reached based on the OML award held by Mr. Obaigbena.

The letter stated that First Bank reportedly sold its outstanding exposure as an Eligible Bank Asset (EBA) to AMCON at a discount, to be paid off by its share of profit from the deal with General Hydrocarbons.

The THISDAY Editor-in-Chief stated that First Bank, AMCON, and General Hydrocarbons signed an outstanding exposure tripartite deed, allowing General Hydrocarbons to guarantee the payment of a now-discounted outstanding exposure of $600 million (in naira) on the bank’s books.

The deal, he claimed, was in exchange for financing the optimum exploration, development, and production of OML 120 by First Bank.

“Once GHL signed the Outstanding Exposure Tripartite Deed effective 31 December 2021, FBN’s account, which was then classified by the Central Bank of Nigeria became whole again. The bank escaped a loan loss provision of N302bn and ultimately declared a profit of N151bn for the year ending 31 December 2021,” the document stated.

“Had GHL not signed and guaranteed the EBA to AMCON, FBN’s loss for 2021 would have been N161bn—a staggering amount for the financial sector at that time, when the exchange rate was N400 to $1. This was particularly significant given that the loan had been classified as non-performing since 2015 (six years prior).”

Obaigbena alleged that the bank later placed obstacles in the financing of OML 120’s development, breaching the Outstanding Exposure Tripartite Deed.