The Federal High Court in Lagos has reportedly upheld a preliminary objection filed by General Hydrocarbons Limited (GHL) against the receivership bid of the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON).
Agreeing with the objection, the court struck out the order permitting AMCON to enforce receivership over the oil and gas firm, General Hydrocarbons Limited, according to reports by Premium Times and The Cable.
Nairametrics reports that the development comes weeks after AMCON, in a bid to freeze GHL’s bank accounts over alleged debt arising from the receivership, wrote to thirty-four financial institutions across the country.
The post-no-debit directive was reportedly contained in letters dated November 6, 2025, written by Adedeji & Owotomo LLP, counsel to Oluseyi Akinwunmi—the receiver/manager reportedly appointed by AMCON to take over the company, Premium Times reports.
Akinwunmi was said to have informed First Bank Limited via a letter that the Federal High Court in Lagos, on October 24, issued a Mareva injunction barring the bank from releasing or dealing with any funds or assets of the firm pending the determination of a motion on notice in the suit.
Legal Development and Court Verdict
AMCON, according to Premium Times, initiated the suit through Oluseyi Akinwunmi, the receiver/manager appointed over GHL’s assets to implement the receivership.
However, GHL’s legal team filed a preliminary objection, arguing that the suit amounted to an abuse of court process due to the multiplicity of similar lawsuits.
Ruling on the matter on Friday, the court held that AMCON’s suit constituted an abuse of court process in view of a subsisting order issued by the same court.
Mr Akinwunmi, the judge reportedly stated, commenced legal proceedings in disregard of an injunction granted by Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa in September, which restrained AMCON, its agents, privies, and nominees from appointing a receiver over General Hydrocarbons Limited and its assets.
The judge was quoted as saying that Mr Akinwunmi and his lawyer, Bidemi Ademola-Bello, intentionally suppressed material facts while obtaining the interim orders, adding that AMCON and the receiver failed to disclose the existence of the prior orders granted by Justice Lewis-Allagoa.
Consequently, the court upheld GHL’s preliminary objection and dismissed the receivership suit.
- As of press time, Nairametrics had yet to obtain the certified true copy of the ruling for independent verification, given the several pending court cases involving GHL, AMCON, and other parties in respect of a widely reported loan dispute.
- What is clear, however, is that the dispute between the parties is already headed to the superior courts.
What You Should Know
Nairametrics previously reported that GHL, a company owned by media mogul Nduka Obaigbena, was placed under a receivership advertisement over an alleged debt obligation by AMCON.
According to a newspaper advertisement seen by Nairametrics in Leadership and New Telegraph dated November 6, all debtors of the company were instructed to remit payments directly to the appointed receiver, Oluseyi Akinwunmi.
For banks and other financial institutions, the advertisement instructed that all deposits, cash, and other assets held in respect of GHL be frozen until further instructions were issued by the receiver.
Reacting to AMCON’s move, GHL faulted what it described as “an unlawful attempt by the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) to appoint a receiver over GHL,” citing pending court cases related to the matter.
The company highlighted a “subsisting court order” issued by Justice Lewis-Allagoa of the Federal High Court, Lagos, in Suit No. FHC/L/CS/1903/2025, dated September 23, 2025, noting that the order was allegedly reaffirmed in the presence of AMCON representatives on October 22, 2025.
Nairametrics reports that the development may be linked to an ongoing legal dispute between GHL and First Bank of Nigeria Limited over Oil Mining Lease (OML) 120.
Recall that a court sitting in Lagos had ordered General Hydrocarbons Limited to pay First Bank of Nigeria Limited (FirstBank) $112,100 and N111 million as costs in connection with the OML 120 dispute.
Justice Kumai Bayang Akaahs, who presided over the case, dismissed GHL’s Notice of Arbitration against FirstBank, ruling that the company failed to substantiate its claims that the bank had an “absolute obligation” to fund the exploration, development, and production of OML 120 under a Subrogation Agreement dated May 29, 2021.
However, GHL later disclosed that it had taken the issue of its crude oil transactions involving some financial institutions to the Supreme Court in Suit No. SC/CV/929/2025.
The company also stated that it had filed an application at the Federal High Court seeking to set aside the arbitration award against it.
