JUST IN: Court lifts asset freeze on General Hydrocarbons Limited

…judge rules First Bank misled court, oil firm seeks $1bn in damages

Presiding over the case between General Hydrocarbons Limited (GHL) and First Bank of Nigeria, the Federal High Court in Lagos has set aside a Mareva injunction that had frozen the assets of GHL and its directors.

Justice Dehinde Dipeolu ruled that the injunction, which was obtained at the request of First Bank of Nigeria and FBNQuest Ltd, conflicted with an earlier order issued by Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa in Suit No. 1953.

The court found that First Bank failed to fully disclose this existing order, leading to what was described as an incompatible ruling.

Upholding the arguments of GHL’s counsel, Abiodun Layonu, SAN, and Olumide Aju, SAN, who represented the 2nd to 5th defendants, the judge determined that First Bank had deliberately “suppressed facts” to mislead the court. As a result, the court had no option but to lift the freezing order on GHL’s accounts, as well as those of other affected defendants.

The Mareva injunction had been secured via an ex parte application by First Bank, despite the existence of a subsisting judgment. GHL and other defendants argued that the order was obtained through fraudulent misrepresentation and concealment of material facts, asserting that if all facts had been presented, the freezing order would not have been granted.

In response to the ruling, GHL’s directors, who were also affected by the asset freeze, have initiated global legal proceedings against First Bank, seeking $1 billion each in damages for defamation and wrongful account freezing.

GHL is also pursuing a case against First Bank’s lawyers, Babajide Koku, SAN, and Victor Ogude, SAN, before the Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee, accusing them of professional misconduct.

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