Business
Supreme Court overturns Appeal Court’s order confiscating General Hydrocarbon’s oil vessel
The Supreme Court of Nigeria on Friday dismissed a decision of the Court of Appeal ordering the seizure of FPSO Tamara Tokoni, a vessel containing crude oil pledged by oil-servicing firm General Hydrocarbons as collateral for a loan facility obtained from First Bank.
The five-member panel of judges, according to This Day newspaper, directed the release of the content of the vessel to General Hydrocarbons because the lawsuit initiated by the lender is contractual and not an admiralty matter.
In a similar vein, the court held that the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal lack jurisdiction to hear the suit, given that the litigation is an admiralty dispute.
In September 2025, the Court of Appeal had ordered the sale of the crude oil aboard the vessel, directing that the proceeds be deposited in an interest-bearing escrow account under the custody of the chief registrar of the Court of Appeal.
The court threw out an earlier ruling of the Federal High Court, Port Harcourt, which dismissed First Bank’s claims over the diversion of proceeds from the sale of crude oil.
The appellate court affirmed the dispute’s maritime nature and emphasised the importance of preserving the res (the crude oil cargo) as the core subject of litigation.
Background
Atlantic Energy Drilling Concepts, chaired by Jide Omokore, an associate of a former Minister of Petroleum, Diezani Alison-Madueke, obtained a credit facility from First Bank in 2011.
The $490 million loan was to finance the firm’s operating and capital expenditure requirements for drilling four oil wells with proven reserves (collectively known as the Forcados assets) and to fund its Strategic Alliance Agreement with the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC).
Atlantic Energy’s assets and rights were pledged as collateral, with First Bank holding a charge over the company’s collection accounts. The debt went bad after payment defaults by Atlantic Energy
“In line with our commitment to address the legacy asset quality challenges, exposure to Atlantic Energy, our biggest NPL (non-performing loan), was written off in the second quarter,” Adesola Adeduntan, First Bank’s former CEO, said in 2019.
According to its financial report, First Bank reduced its non-performing loan ratio to 14.5 per cent as of June 2019, down from 25.3 per cent, after writing off the N126 billion loan.
Oba Otudeko, then chairman of FBN Holdings (now First HoldCo), later sought the help of Nduka Obaigbena, owner of General Hydrocarbons, to salvage First Bank from a potentially disastrous situation. That prompted the duo to agree to work together, according to Mr Obaigbena, who held an approved oil mining lease (OML) from former President Umaru Yar’Adua.
In a letter written to Yemi Cardoso, the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, dated 7 November 2024 and seen by PREMIUM TIMES, Mr Obaigbena argued that the NNPC under late Maikanti Baru failed to sign the security documents for the now bad, non-performing loan to Atlantic Energy Drilling Concept Nigeria Limited (Atlantic Energy) for OML 26, OML 42, OML30 and OML 34 under separate Strategic Alliance Agreements between Atlantic Energy and NPDC Limited, claiming it was a fraudulent scheme to defraud the Federal Government by the then minister of petroleum resources, Diezani Allison-Madueke.
He noted that it was obvious during the meeting, which he claimed to be part of, that the facilities granted to Atlantic Energy by First Bank did not follow due process.
“FBN was now faced with an unsecured and non-performing exposure of $718M and was on the verge of becoming a systemic risk to the banking sector,” he stated.
“It was discovered that FBN had given this loan recklessly without security as part of a scheme that funded Diezani Allison-Madueke and Kola Aluko (details of these are still being investigated by Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, and the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency, NCA),” Mr Obaigbena added.
He noted that First Bank, AMCON, and General Hydrocarbons signed a tripartite deed on outstanding exposure, allowing Global Hydrocarbons to guarantee payment of a pending, now-discounted, outstanding exposure of $600 million in naira on the bank’s books.
“Once GHL signed the Outstanding Exposure Tripartite Deed effective 31st December 2021, FBN’s account, which was then classified by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), was now whole agai,n having escaped a loan loss provision of 302Bn Naira against a profit of 151Bn Naira ultimately declared for the year ending 31st December 2021,” the document stated.
Last September, Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa of the Federal High Court in Lagos granted an injunction restraining AMCON from appointing a receiver over General Hydrocarbons and its assets.
The court also forbade AMCON, its managing director, First Bank and the attorney general of the federation from taking any steps or continuing any moves to enforce any rights against the energy firm or its assets.
The rights, the court said, included “but not limited to freezing the accounts of the applicant, its directors or shareholders, the appointment of a receiver/receiver manager, asset manager, recovery agent, etc., over the applicant, the applicant’s assets, or the assets belonging to the applicant’s directors or shareholders.”
On 28 October 2025, General Hydrocarbons was directed by an arbitral tribunal to pay First Bank of Nigeria $112,100 and N111.25 million in legal and arbitration costs.
Justice Akaah Kumai, who gave the order, said failure by General Hydrocarbons to comply will attract a 10 per cent annual interest rate until full settlement.
The tribunal dismissed the allegation that First Bank sabotaged alternative financing arrangements on the ground that the claim lacked merit.
It also ruled that General Hydrocarbons was not entitled to any damages, expenses, or compensation for third-party contractors, unpaid salaries, or failed contracts.
Seyi Akinwunmi, the receiver/manager appointed by AMCON, disclosed in a newspaper advertisement dated 6 November 2025 announcing his appointment as receiver/manager over General Hydrocarbons, stating that the oil firm is now under receivership.
On the same day, AMCON formally requested that thirty-four financial institutions in Nigeria block access to the assets (including funds) held by them on behalf of the company.
“At the time AMCON appointed me receiver manager, there was no order against me. I was appointed under the law, and I am operating according to law,” Mr Akinwunmi told PREMIUM TIMES.
A lawyer of General Hydrocarbons informed PREMIUM TIMES at the time that AMCON had obtained the order to enforce the receivership from a court of equal jurisdiction presided over by Justice Adetayo Aluko.
The receiver/manager’s ploy to draft in a new lawyer – Oluseye Opasanya – into the legal battle to replace Abiodun Laniyonu, who had represented General Hydrocarbons right from the start of the tussle, hit a brick wall.
READ ALSO: Supreme Court upholds final forfeiture of N1.58 billion linked to former NIRSAL consultant
Justice Lewis-Allagoa said the step ran contrary to a current court order and quashed the move on that basis.
In December 2025, the Lagos Division of the Federal High Court struck out the order empowering AMCON to enforce receivership over General Hydrocarbons.
Justice Akintayo Aluko, who announced the decision, said a suit initiated by the receiver/manager appointed by AMCON is an abuse of court process in light of a subsisting order issued by the same court.
Mr Akinwunmi, the judge added, launched legal proceedings in disregard for the injunction granted by Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa in September, restraining AMCON, its agents, privies, nominees, etc, from appointing a receiver over General Hydrocarbons and its assets.
The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) to continue issuing and renewing petroleum products import licences to three major oil marketers, ruling that the regulator’s refusal to do so violates the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
Justice Inyang Ekwo delivered the judgement on Monday. The judge reportedly ruled that the authority’s refusal to grant or renew import licences for Matrix Energy, AA Rano and AYM Shafa was in “direct non-compliance” with the PIA, Nairametrics reported.
It said the judge specifically directed the regulator to continue granting, issuing, extending, renewing or reissuing licences, permits and authorisations for midstream and downstream petroleum operations, particularly the importation of petroleum products, once the companies meet all statutory and regulatory requirements.
The judgement followed a suit filed in June by the three oil marketers challenging the NMDPRA’s refusal to regularly issue or renew their petroleum products import licences.
The companies, through their lawyers, Raji Ahmed, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, and Chris Ekemezie, argued that the PIA does not prohibit the importation of petroleum products into Nigeria or prevent the regulator from issuing licences to eligible importers.
The Court rulings
Delivering judgement on Monday, Mr Ekwo held that the NMDPRA’s refusal to issue and renew the licences was inconsistent with the provisions of the PIA and that the authority had acted beyond the limits of the law.
He ruled that any exercise of regulatory powers relating to import licences in violation of the PIA and other relevant laws was “null and void”.
The judge also held that the plaintiffs had successfully established their claims against the regulator.
In a key part of the judgment, the court declared that Sections 31, 32 and other relevant provisions of the PIA, read alongside Section 72 of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act, mandate the NMDPRA to promote competition in the midstream and downstream petroleum sectors.
The provisions also require the regulator to prevent the abuse of dominant market positions and restrictive business practices.
The court further declared that the three oil marketers were entitled to the issuance, extension or renewal of their import licences upon fulfilling the conditions stipulated by the NMDPRA.
The judge, however, clarified that the authority retains exclusive regulatory powers to grant, modify, extend, renew, suspend, cancel or terminate licences and permits for midstream and downstream petroleum operations.
Why the oil marketers went to court
In an affidavit filed on 26 June in support of the suit, Sabiu Saidu Mahuta, executive director of AA Rano Nigeria Limited, said the NMDPRA had, since July 2025, issued, extended or renewed import licences for the three companies only sporadically rather than regularly.
He argued that the regulator’s actions and inactions were entrenching market dominance and monopolisation of the downstream petroleum sector by local refineries.
Mr Mahuta also said the three companies had collectively invested more than $20 billion in infrastructure, logistics and retail networks to support their petroleum businesses.
“Collectively, the plaintiffs have invested more than $20,000,000,000 [Twenty Billion United States of America Dollars] in infrastructure, logistics and retail networks for the smooth operations of their licensed petroleum products businesses,” he stated.
The companies argued that allowing petroleum imports alongside local refining would promote competition, prevent monopolistic practices and price-fixing, and improve the overall performance of Nigeria’s midstream and downstream petroleum sectors.
Their lawyer, Mr Raji, urged the court to affirm the legality of petroleum products imports and the regulator’s obligation to issue licences to eligible operators.
Dangote Refinery’s legal suits
The judgement comes amid an ongoing legal dispute over the issuance of petrol import licences in Nigeria, particularly following the expansion of domestic refining capacity by the Dangote Refinery.
Dangote Refinery has argued in a separate suit that the continued issuance of petroleum products import licences contravenes Nigerian law, which it maintains permits imports only when local refineries cannot meet domestic demand.
The refinery recently filed a fresh N100 billion suit against the Attorney-General of the Federation at the Federal High Court in Lagos over the continued issuance of import licences.
Matrix Energy, AA Rano and AYM Shafa have also applied to join that suit.
The case remains pending before the court.
The latest ruling in Abuja, however, addresses the three oil marketers’ rights to obtain import licences from the NMDPRA, provided they meet the applicable statutory and regulatory conditions.
Nigeria’s changing petrol supply dynamics
The legal dispute comes as Nigeria’s petroleum supply landscape continues to change following increased output from domestic refineries.
PREMIUM TIMES reported that NMDPRA data published last week showed that petrol imports declined sharply in the first quarter of 2026, while supplies from local refineries rose to about 3.18 billion litres.
The statistical presentation of the report showed that crude oil receipts by domestic refineries increased to 683,000 barrels per day (bpd) in August from 585,000 bpd in July, representing a 17 per cent increase.
The increase became profound as domestic petrol receipts rose significantly while reliance on imported petrol declined.
According to the data, average daily Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) receipts increased by 11 per cent, from 45.5 million litres per day in July to 50.5 million litres per day in August.
The report indicated that domestic PMS receipts accounted for most of the increase, rising by 39 per cent, from 25.8 million litres per day to 35.9 million litres per day.
In contrast, PMS imports fell by 26 per cent, from 19.7 million litres per day in July to 14.6 million litres per day in August.
The growth in domestic refining has intensified discussions about the role of fuel imports, market competition, and the regulatory conditions governing the supply of petroleum products.
READ ALSO: Dangote refinery drove Nigeria’s petrol supply in August as NNPC refineries remain shut — Report
Meanwhile, PREMIUM TIMES reported last week that NMDPRS approved petrol import permits covering about 830,000 metric tonnes for multiple companies ahead of the fourth quarter of 2026.
George Ene-Ita, spokesperson for the authority, confirmed the development to PREMIUM TIMES last Tuesday.
“Yes, petrol import permits were approved for Q4 2026 to ensure no supply gaps are heading into the critical end-of-year period,” Mr Ene-Ita said.
Companies reportedly granted the permits include Matrix Energy, A.A. Rano, AYM Shafa, NIPCO, Pinnacle Oil and Bono Energy.
The approvals were reportedly issued on 18 September, although details of the individual allocations to the marketers are still sketchy. A request for details from PREMIUM TIMES, sent via email to the authority last week, was acknowledged, but has yet to be received.
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A social media claim that OPay has stopped using customers’ phone numbers as account numbers and is now issuing standard bank account numbers has sparked confusion among users of the fintech platform.
The claim, which circulated among social media users, urged OPay customers still using their phone numbers as account numbers to visit OPay agents to have their accounts updated.
“OPay is no longer using phone numbers as account numbers. They’re now issuing standard account numbers, so if you’re still using your phone number as your OPay account number, hurry to an OPay agent to get yours updated,” an X user, Israel Gharee, posted.
However, an OPay official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told PREMIUM TIMES that the claim is inaccurate, adding that the company would communicate any major changes to its customers through its official communication channels.
“I have seen the tweet. But even from the comments you will see people are already correcting him. If we have any update or news, we will always share through our communication channels,” the official said on Sunday.
Clarification
The official said the claim may have been prompted by OPay’s My BizPayment feature, which provides users with a separate account number for business transactions.
The feature is available to existing OPay users who want to use their accounts for business purposes. It allows users to provide information about their businesses and, after completing the process, receive a merchant account number.
The existence of the merchant account number does not mean OPay has replaced the phone-number-based account details used by its regular customers.
The business account number is associated with the user’s existing OPay account and is intended for business-related transactions.
BizPayment account
My BizPayment is a business feature within the OPay app, and it’s not a recent update.
Users can access it through the “Me” section of the app and provide information about their businesses, including the nature of the business and how it operates.
The process includes different business categories and operating models. Once the required information is provided, eligible users can proceed to generate a merchant account number.
ALSO READ: Eight years on, OPay keeps Nigerian businesses moving
The account number generated through this process may therefore look different from the phone-number format associated with a regular OPay account.
That distinction appears to be at the centre of the social media claim.
No instruction to change existing accounts
There is no indication from OPay that ordinary customers have been instructed to visit agents to replace their existing phone-number-based account details.
The company said any change to its account system would be communicated through its official channels.
The OPay official said the availability of a separate merchant account number through My BizPayment should not be interpreted as an announcement that OPay has discontinued the use of phone numbers for regular customer accounts.
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