Justice Dehinde Dipeolu of the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, Lagos today discharged all the Mareva injunctions earlier granted by the court against an oil prospecting company, General Hydrocarbons Limited (GHL) and it related entities.
It would be recalled that in a bid to recover an alleged debt of $225.8million owed it by GHL, First Bank PLC had through an application made to the court sought for an order freezing the bank accounts of GHL, its directors and its related entities.
Justice Dipeolu while ruling on First Bank ex-parte application had on December 30, 2024, granted the application by making an order restricting all commercial banks from releasing or dealing with any assets or monies belonging to General Hydrocarbons Limited, its agents, subsidiaries, or sister companies up to the amount claimed by the plaintiffs.
The judge also issued an 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 decides on the Motion on Notice for an interlocutory injunction.
Other respondents in the suit include 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,
Mercuria Energy Trading SA, Trafigura PTE Limited, Glencore Energy UK Limited, Schlumberger Nigeria Limited, Schlumberger Overseas SA, and Baker Hughes Oilfield Services.
However, consequent upon the order granted by the court, GHL had through a preliminary objection filed and argued on 17 January, 2025 asked the court to lift the Mareva injunction on the ground that it was irregularly obtained.
While moving application for the lifting of the order, GHL’s counsel, Abiodun Layonu, SAN, said that First Bank’s suit was an abuse of the court process.
Layonu added that First Bank failed to disclose that there was an earlier order granted by Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa of the same Federal High Court, Ikoyi, Lagos which restrained the bank from taking further action to recover the loan until the parties subjected themselves to arbitration.
Layonu urged the court to dismiss the Mareva Injunction, arguing that the court was misled into granting it and that it has caused significant financial harm to GHL.
In response, Victor Ogude, SAN, counsel for First Bank, contended that First Bank did not deceive the court nor conceal material fact to obtain the order.
He said the bank provided all relevant facts in its affidavit supporting the suit upon which the Mareva injunction was obtained.
Ogude added that the parties involved in the matter before Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa and those before Justice Dipeolu are different and that nothing in the earlier order prevents First Bank from pursuing the current matter under different agreements.
He also noted that no law restricts their constitutional right to seek judicial redress for disputes.
He further stated that Nduka Obaigbena, Efe Damilola Obaigbena, and Olabisi Eka Obaigbena were listed in the suit in their capacities as directors of GHL based on allegations of their involvement in the diversion of funds obtained by the oil company from the bank.
Ogude urged the court to dismiss GHL’s application seeking to lift the Mareva injunction as incompetent and set a date for the hearing of the substantive suit.
After considering the arguments presented by both counsels, the judge reserved the ruling till today.
Delivering his ruling on GHL’s application to lift the Mareva order today, Justice Dipeolu after a long ruling, though agreed with First Bank that the suit did not constitute an abuse of court process, that the parties before him were not the same and that the applicant discloses material facts, he, however, discharged the Mareva Injunction against all the defendants on the ground that First Bank did not make full disclosure of material facts which misled the court into granting the wide injunctive reliefs sought by the bank.
In particular, Justice Dehinde held that if First Bank had hinted the court that a brother judge had earlier made an order on the subject matter it wouldn’t have granted the Mareva injunction.
The trial judge then adjourned the matter till February 19, 2025 for the hearing of the substantive suit.