The Federal High Court in Lagos has issued a Mareva order directing all banks in Nigeria to blacklist media mogul Nduka Obaigbena, along with his family members, over an alleged $718 million debt owed to First Bank of Nigeria.
The December 30, 2024, ruling also restrains Mr. Obaigbena from transferring any of his assets outside the court’s jurisdiction.
First Bank filed the suit against Mr. Obaigbena and his family, including Efe Damilola Obaigbena and Olabisi Eka Obaigbena, claiming they acquired the debt through their oil servicing firm, General Hydrocarbons Limited.
Justice Deinde Dipeolu, who presided over the case, ordered Nigerian banks to immediately freeze at least $225 million held in accounts linked to the Obaigbenas.
The judge also directed that all financial transactions involving the Obaigbenas or their associated businesses cease forthwith.
When contacted, Mr. Obaigbena did not comment on the court order.
However, a source close to the THISDAY and Arise TV chairman shared a letter from his legal team, Abiodun Layonu & Co., which fully captured their objections.
The January 9, 2025, letter accused First Bank of disregarding a prior ruling by Justice Lewis Allagoa of the same court.
The December 12, 2024, judgment explicitly barred First Bank from taking any action against the Obaigbenas’ assets pending the resolution of an ongoing arbitration.
The legal team argued that First Bank’s actions in seeking the Mareva order without disclosing the earlier ruling were both unethical and unlawful.
The lawyers warned of “grave legal implications” for violating the prior judgment.
In a petition to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Yemi Cardoso last year, Mr. Obaigbena claimed he played a pivotal role in saving First Bank from financial collapse in 2021.
He alleged that resources from OML 120, secured during President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, helped transform First Bank’s fortunes from a N161 billion loss to a N151 billion profit.
“We have been left with no choice but to go to court and arbitration to preserve our fundamental rights and our rights under the agreements in the face of FBN’s attempts to clubber and bully us out of existence,” Mr. Obaigbena said in a November 7, 2024, complaint.
First Bank and its chairman, Femi Otedola, have yet to respond to the allegations or confirm receipt of the Obaigbenas’ legal correspondence.
