Justice Deinde Dipeolu of the Federal High Court in Lagos has lifted the Mareva Injunction that froze the assets of an oil and gas services company, General Hydrocarbons Limited (GHL), over its alleged refusal to pay a $225.8 million loan facility awarded to it by First Bank of Nigeria Limited.
The judge also held that he has jurisdiction over the suit filed by First Bank on the grounds that the case is not an abuse of court process as the subject matter and the parties involved are different from those before Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa.
However, Justice Dipeolu stated that he would not have granted the Mareva injunction had he been fully aware of Justice Lewis-Allagoa’s prior order in Suit No. 1953.
In a ruling delivered on December 30, 2024, Justice Dipeolu put restrictions in place, prohibiting all commercial banks from releasing or dealing with any assets or funds belonging to General Hydrocarbons Limited, its agents, subsidiaries, or related entities up to the amount claimed by the plaintiffs.
Additionally, the judge issued a preliminary injunction barring Nduka Obaigbena, Efe Damilola
Obaigbena, and Olabisi Eka Obaigbena—directors of General Hydrocarbons Limited—from transferring or dissipating any of their assets located in Nigeria, whether movable or immovable, until the court makes a decision on the Motion on Notice for an interlocutory injunction.
Earlier, GHL had obtained an order from Justice Lewis-Allagoa in another case, which prevented First Bank of Nigeria Limited from taking further action to recover the loan until the parties fulfilled their obligation to engage in arbitration.
While moving the application, challenging the Mareva Injunction GHL’s counsel, Dr Abiodun Layonu (SAN), argued that the Injunction represented an abuse of the court process, claiming that First Bank had failed to disclose the previous order by Justice Lewis-Allagoa, which had restrained the bank from further action.
In response, First Bank lawyer Victor Ogude (SAN) argued that his client did not deceive the court to obtain the order and that the bank provided all relevant facts in its affidavit supporting the suit.
He also claimed that no law restricts their constitutional right to seek judicial redress for disputes.
In his ruling, Justice Dipeolu acknowledged that while the current suit was not an abuse of process, it had to respect the prior orders issued by his brother judge.
Justice Dipeolu held, “I have carefully read through all that is contained in the Originating Summons in Suit No:FHC/L/CS/1953/24 and the Interim Orders of Hon. Justice Allagoa J. dated the 12th of December, 2024.
“It appears to me that the Interim Orders made by Hon. Justice Allagoa J. revolves around the arbitration proceedings between the first Defendant and the first Plaintiff in this case, which arbitration proceedings is pursuant to Clause 12 (c) of the Agreement between the 1st Defendant and the 1st Plaintiff dated the 29th of May, 2021. This position is reflected in all the Interim Orders granted on the 12th of December, 2024.
“Although the Interim Orders made by this Court on the 30th of December, 2024 are about the subsequent facilities agreement between the first Plaintiff and the first Defendant and it does not extend to the receivables in the agreement of 29 of May, 2021, also, the present suit on the face of it if placed side by side with FHC/L/CS/1953/2024 is not an abuse of process.
“For the reasons given above, however, in view of the Orders of Allagoa J. made on the 12th of December, 2024, the Mareva order granted by this Court on 30th December is hereby set aside,” the court stated.
Justice Dipeolu affirmed the court’s jurisdiction to grant the initial Mareva order but concluded that the injunction could not stand in light of conflicting orders.
Furthermore, the court ruled that the second to fifth defendants, who were affected by the Mareva orders, had the right to seek the dismissal of the suit.
Justice Dipeolu has adjourned the case to February 19, 2025, for further proceedings.
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