The Court of Appeal in Abuja has ruled that crude oil on board the FPSO Tamara Tokoni be sold and the proceeds deposited into a court-administered escrow account, pending the resolution of an ongoing arbitration between First Bank of Nigeria (FBN) and GHL.
A three-man panel led by Justice Hamma Barka gave the ruling on Thursday, setting aside an earlier decision of the Federal High Court, Port Harcourt, which had ordered the release of the crude to GHL. The appellate court said preserving the res—the crude oil—was necessary to ensure justice while the dispute is determined in court and arbitration.
Under the order, the Chief Registrar of the Court of Appeal, working with the Admiralty Marshal, will take possession of the crude cargo to prevent waste, dissipation, or fraudulent disposal. Proceeds from any sales are to be paid into an interest-yielding escrow account in the registrar’s name until the matter is resolved.
The ruling comes after FBN lost a string of earlier cases before Justices Lewis Alagoa and Deinde Dipeolu in Lagos, and Justice E.A. Obile in Port Harcourt. The bank is pursuing claims that GHL owes it $225.8 million, which GHL denies, insisting FBN breached a 2021 Subrogation Agreement and that no debt is outstanding.
In its appeal, GHL accused FBN of abusing ex parte freezing orders by selectively releasing crude from the FPSO to Conoil and NNPCL. The Court of Appeal, however, halted such transactions, directing that all crude aboard the FPSO remain under court custody until the dispute is fully determined.
The arbitration process between FBN and GHL is ongoing, with a decision expected before the end of the year. Both parties were directed to bear their own costs.
