The Federal High Court in Lagos has overturned a Mareva injunction that had frozen the assets of General Hydrocarbons Limited (GHL) and its directors.
GHL is owned by the founder of Arise TV and publisher of ThisDay Newspaper, Prince Nduka Obiaghena.
Prince Obiaghena has been having a running battle with the old-generation bank for the past few weeks.
On Wednesday, January 29, the court ruled that First Bank of Nigeria and FBNQuest Ltd failed to disclose a pre-existing court order.
Presiding over the case, Justice Dehinde Dipeolu found that the injunction—originally secured by First Bank—conflicted with an earlier ruling issued by Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa in Suit No. 1953.
The judge determined that First Bank “deliberately suppressed facts” to obtain the asset freeze, misleading the court in the process.
The Mareva injunction, granted via an ex parte application, had placed restrictions on GHL’s accounts despite a subsisting judgment in favour of the company.
GHL and its directors argued that the freezing order was obtained through fraudulent misrepresentation and concealment of material facts, stating that full disclosure would have prevented the ruling.
Following the court’s decision, GHL’s directors have launched legal proceedings against First Bank, seeking $1 billion each in damages for defamation and wrongful account freezing.
Additionally, GHL has filed a complaint with the Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee against First Bank’s lawyers, Babajide Koku, SAN, and Victor Ogude, SAN, alleging professional misconduct.
