The Federal High Court in Lagos has ruled in favor of General Hydrocarbons Limited, overturning a Mareva injunction that had frozen the company’s and its directors’ assets.
The court determined that the injunction was in violation of an existing ruling from a court of concurrent jurisdiction, while upholding the arguments made by GHL’s attorney, Abiodun Layonu, SAN.
When compared to a previous ruling by Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa in Suit No. 1953, Justice Dehinde Dipeolu said in his ruling that the Mareva Injunction ought to be overturned.
The court determined that the Mareva Injunction was incompatible with the previous decision because First Bank of Nigeria and FBNQUEST LTD, at whose request the injunction was obtained, had not fully disclosed Justice Lewis-Allagoa’s order.
In order to deceive the court into issuing the injunction against GHL, First Bank knowingly “suppressed facts,” the court agreed with GHL. Given the circumstances, the court stated that it was forced to revoke the order that had frozen GHL’s accounts.
Despite a supporting judgment, First Bank had filed an ex-parte application with the court against General Hydrocarbons Limited and fifteen other corporations.
In response to the lawsuit, GHL asked the court to revoke the order that had frozen its assets and accounts, claiming that the court had been deceived in issuing it. The oil company claimed that false misrepresentation and the omission of important facts were used to get the order.
First Bank was accused by GHL and other petitioners of deceiving the court in order to get orders against them.
They contended that the order against them would not have been issued if the trial judge had been presented with all the information. The freezing order was revoked by the trial judge after upholding GHL’s arguments.