Business
BREAKING: GHL FLOORS FIRST BANK IN COURT
Justice Dipeolu sets aside freezing orders against GHL, Judge Says First Bank suppressed relevant facts to secure Order.
In a landmark victory for General Hydrocarbons Limited, the Federal High Court in Lagos has set aside an order of Mareva injunction freezing the assets of the company and its directors.
The court, while upholding the arguments of GHL’s counsel, Abiodun Layonu, SAN as well as the arguments of Olumide Aju, SAN representing the 2nd to 5th defendants in the case held that the injunction violated an existing order from a court of concurrent jurisdiction.
In his ruling, Justice Dehinde Dipeolu, stated that when compared with an earlier order issued by Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa in Suit No. 1953, the Mareva Injunction should be set aside.
The court found that First Bank of Nigeria and FBNQUEST LTD, at whose instance the order was procured, failed to fully disclose Justice Lewis-Allagoa’s order, which made the Mareva Injunction incompatible with the earlier ruling.
The court consequently agreed with GHL and the 2nd to 5th defendants that First Bank deliberately “suppressed facts” to mislead the court into granting the order against GHL.
The court in the circumstance, said it had no choice but to set aside the order freezing GHL accounts as well as the accounts of all the other defendants in the case.
First Bank had approached the court via an ex-parte application against General Hydrocarbons Limited and 15 other entities even when there was a subsiting judgement.
Responding to the suit, GHL and some of the defendants urged the court to discharge the order freezing its assets and accounts on the grounds that the court was misled in granting same.
The oil firm argued that the order was obtained through fraudulent misrepresentation and concealment of material facts.
GHL and other applicants accused First Bank of misleading the court to obtain orders against them.
They argued that had all the facts been presented before the trial judge, the order against them would not have been granted.
The trial judge upheld GHL’s arguments and consequently set aside the freezing order.
Meanwhile , GHL directors who were also negatively affected by the ex parte freezing order have begun proceedings worldwide against First Bank, seeking $1bn each in damages for defamation and wrongful freezing of their accounts.
GHL is also bringing a case in the Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee against First Bank lawyers, Babajide Koku, SAN and Victor Ogude SAN for unprofessional conduct.
Business
CBN admits it opened domiciliary accounts for PFIPC agency
Represented by the Director of its Banking Services Department, Hamisu Ibrahim, the CBN said that the accounts are one in US dollars, the other in British pounds sterling, were opened following a mandate received from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.
File photo : PFIPC agency DG, Adeniyi Adeyemi
The Central Bank of Nigeria had admitted that it opened two foreign-currency domiciliary accounts for the controversial Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC).
The apex bank made the confirmation, yesterday, during the public hearing convened at the National Assembly Complex by the House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee investigating the existence and operations of the PFIPC, chaired by Yusuf Gagdi and inaugurated by Speaker Tajudeen Abbas.
Represented by the Director of its Banking Services Department, Hamisu Ibrahim, the CBN said that the accounts are one in US dollars, the other in British pounds sterling, were opened following a mandate received from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.
He explained that on July 30, 2025, CBN received a mandate dated July 29, 2025 from the Office of the Accountant-General.
“We received the mandate to authorise two accounts, one a US dollar domiciliary account, the other a pound domiciliary account, for the Presidential Economic Advisory Council/Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council,” Ibrahim told the committee.
He explained the CBN’s verification process, “The process of opening an account requires a mandate from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.
“Once we receive that mandate, we perform all the necessary verifications to confirm that this mandate is actually coming from that office.
The department that handles the mandate is different from the department that actually does the account opening,” he said.
Nevertheless, he noted that no one came to activate the accounts after they were opened.“We did not receive any correspondence, mandate, signature or mandate cards. We were not introduced to the authorising or approving officers.“Based on that, those accounts remain inactive, with zero balance. There have been no foreign exchange allocations.
BLACK MARKET RATES
US DOLLAR (USD) Buy ₦1, 410 Sell ₦1,415
GREAT BRITISH POUND (GBP) Buy ₦1,890 Sell: ₦1,910
EURO (EUR) Buy ₦1,580 Sell ₦1,600
CANADIAN DOLLAR (CAD) Buy ₦1,020 Sell ₦1,080
SOUTH AFRICAN RAND (ZAR) Buy ₦75 Sell ₦90
UAE DIRHAM Buy ₦350 Sell ₦370 CHINESE YUAN Buy ₦190 Sell ₦205
GHANA CEDI (GHS) Buy ₦95 Sell ₦110
WEST AFRICAN CFA Buy ₦2, 300 Sell ₦2, 400
CENTRAL AFRICAN CFA Buy ₦2,150 Sell 2,250
AUSTRALIAN DOLLAR Buy ₦800 Sell ₦900
CBN OFFICIAL EXCHANGE RATES
US DOLLAR (USD) ₦1,380.11
GREAT BRITISH POUND (GBP) ₦1,857.35
EURO (EUR) ₦1,575.95
SWISS FRANC (CHF) ₦1,705. 31
JAPANESE YEN (JPN) ₦8.50
CHINESE YUAN (CNY) ₦203.94
WEST AFRICAN CFA (XOF) ₦2.40
WEST AFRICAN UNIT ACCOUNT (WAUA) ₦1,874. 32
SAUDI RIYAL (SAR) ₦367.49
SOUTH AFRICAN RAND (ZAR) ₦83.69
BLACK MARKET RATES
US DOLLAR (USD) Buy ₦1, 416 Sell ₦1,422
GREAT BRITISH POUND (GBP) Buy ₦1,895 Sell: ₦1,915
EURO (EUR) Buy ₦1,590 Sell ₦1,610
CANADIAN DOLLAR (CAD) Buy ₦1,020 Sell ₦1,080
SOUTH AFRICAN RAND (ZAR) Buy ₦75 Sell ₦90
UAE DIRHAM Buy ₦350 Sell ₦370 CHINESE YUAN Buy ₦190 Sell ₦205
GHANA CEDI (GHS) Buy ₦95 Sell ₦110
WEST AFRICAN CFA Buy ₦2, 300 Sell ₦2, 400
CENTRAL AFRICAN CFA Buy ₦2,150 Sell 2,250
AUSTRALIAN DOLLAR Buy ₦800 Sell ₦900
CBN OFFICIAL EXCHANGE RATES
US DOLLAR (USD) ₦1,380.18
GREAT BRITISH POUND (GBP) ₦1,854.42
EURO (EUR) ₦1,577.00
SWISS FRANC (CHF) ₦1,707.94
JAPANESE YEN (JPN) ₦8.50
CHINESE YUAN (CNY) ₦203.57
WEST AFRICAN CFA (XOF) ₦2.40
WEST AFRICAN UNIT ACCOUNT (WAUA) ₦1,874. 32
SAUDI RIYAL (SAR) ₦367.48
SOUTH AFRICAN RAND (ZAR) ₦83.29
CBN admits it opened domiciliary accounts for PFIPC agency
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