Chairman of Arise News Channel Nduka Obaigbena Reacts to Court Order Freezing His Bank Accounts

Lawyers representing Nduka Obaigbena, the editor-in-chief of THISDAY Media Group and chairman of Arise TV, have described the freezing order obtained by First Bank of Nigeria against his bank accounts as an abuse of court process. The statement, issued by Abiodun Layonu & Co, the solicitors to General Hydrocarbons, a company owned by Obaigbena, came in response to a Federal High Court ruling obtained by First Bank on December 30, 2024.

The court had issued an order restraining all commercial banks in Nigeria from dealing with funds and assets amounting to $225.8 million across various accounts associated with Obaigbena, including those linked to General Hydrocarbons Limited, a company he controls. The order also extends to assets belonging to his family members, Efe Damilola Obaigbena and Olabisi Eka Obaigbena.

However, the lawyers argue that the order is flawed, pointing to a conflicting ruling issued just weeks earlier. On December 12, 2024, the Federal High Court had issued a final judgment in a case involving General Hydrocarbons and First Bank, explicitly preventing the bank from taking steps to enforce any security or financial claims against the company while arbitration proceedings were ongoing. The solicitors assert that the bank’s actions were in direct contradiction to this earlier court order, which was delivered by a different judge.

The legal team accused First Bank of deliberately omitting the previous court’s judgment in its application for the December 30 order, calling it a blatant case of abuse of court process. They further stressed that the bank sought to circumvent the law by obtaining favorable orders from a different judge, which directly violated the existing ruling.

General Hydrocarbons’ solicitors also noted that the Federal High Court, in October 2024, had issued an injunction preventing First Bank from obstructing the company’s access to loans or other financial resources critical to its operations. The court had also prohibited the bank from making public statements suggesting that the company was indebted to it, as well as from taking any actions to enforce claims against General Hydrocarbons in connection with its OML 120 oil block.

In light of these conflicting rulings, the lawyers warned of serious legal implications if the bank’s attempts to enforce the freezing order were allowed to stand. They stressed that the actions of First Bank were a clear overreach and a violation of the established legal process.