By Hassanat Adebowale
Justice Dehinde Dipeolu of the Federal High Court in Lagos on Wednesday vacated an ex parte mareva injunction that had frozen the assets of General Hydrocarbons Limited, a Nigerian oil and gas services company. The injunction was related to a disputed $225.8 million loan debt.
Justice Dipeolu ruled that the injunction conflicted with an existing order from a court of concurrent jurisdiction. He cited a previous order issued by Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa in a different case, stating that the mareva injunction should be set aside due to this conflict.
The case originated from an ex-parte order granted by Justice Dipeolu on December 30, 2024, which restricted all commercial banks from dealing with any assets or funds belonging to General Hydrocarbons Limited and its affiliated entities. Additionally, a preliminary injunction was issued against the company’s directors, barring them from transferring or dissipating any assets in Nigeria until a decision was made on the Motion on Notice for an interlocutory injunction.
The court found that First Bank of Nigeria had not fully disclosed the earlier order by Justice Lewis-Allagoa, making the mareva injunction incompatible with the previous ruling.
First Bank of Nigeria had sought to recover a $225.8 million loan extended to General Hydrocarbons Limited and obtained the ex-parte order to freeze the company’s assets. However, General Hydrocarbons Limited, through its lawyer Abiodun Layonu, argued that the bank’s suit represented an abuse of the court process and that important facts had been concealed.
Layonu further claimed that Justice Lewis-Allagoa had previously restrained the bank from taking further action to recover the loan until the parties underwent arbitration. He urged the court to lift the mareva injunction, arguing that it had caused significant financial harm to the company.
The court decided to vacate the mareva injunction, lifting the freeze on General Hydrocarbons Limited’s assets.
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