The Supreme Court of Nigeria on Friday overturned a Court of Appeal decision that had ordered the seizure of FPSO Tamara Tokoni, a vessel carrying crude oil pledged by General Hydrocarbons as collateral for a loan from First Bank. The five-member panel ruled that the lawsuit initiated by First Bank is contractual in nature, not an admiralty matter, and therefore the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal lacked jurisdiction to hear the suit.
Court orders release of cargo to General Hydrocarbons
According to a report by This Day newspaper, the Supreme Court directed the release of the crude oil cargo to General Hydrocarbons. The apex court set aside the September 2025 Court of Appeal ruling that had ordered the sale of the crude oil and the deposit of proceeds in an interest-bearing escrow account under the custody of the chief registrar of the Court of Appeal. The Supreme Court also quashed an earlier Federal High Court, Port Harcourt decision that had dismissed First Bank's claims over the diversion of proceeds from crude oil sales.
Background of the loan dispute
The case stems from a $490 million credit facility granted by First Bank in 2011 to Atlantic Energy Drilling Concepts, chaired by Jide Omokore, an associate of former Minister of Petroleum Diezani Alison-Madueke. The loan was intended to finance drilling operations on four oil wells with proven reserves, collectively known as the Forcados assets, and to fund a Strategic Alliance Agreement with the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC). Atlantic Energy pledged its assets and rights as collateral, with First Bank holding a charge over the company's collection accounts.
Debt default and write-off
The debt turned non-performing after Atlantic Energy defaulted on payments. In 2019, former First Bank CEO Adesola Adeduntan stated, "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." First Bank's financial report showed that after writing off the N126 billion loan, its non-performing loan ratio dropped to 14.5 per cent as of June 2019, down from 25.3 per cent.
Obaigbena's involvement and allegations
Oba Otudeko, then chairman of FBN Holdings, sought the help of Nduka Obaigbena, owner of General Hydrocarbons, to salvage First Bank from a potentially disastrous situation. In a letter dated 7 November 2024 to Central Bank of Nigeria Governor Yemi Cardoso, Mr Obaigbena claimed that the NNPC under late Maikanti Baru failed to sign security documents for the now bad loan, alleging a fraudulent scheme to defraud the Federal Government by former minister Diezani Allison-Madueke. He stated, "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." Mr Obaigbena added that the loan was given "recklessly without security as part of a scheme that funded Diezani Allison-Madueke and Kola Aluko," noting that details were still being investigated by the EFCC and the UK's National Crime Agency.
Tripartite deed and arbitration
Mr Obaigbena noted that First Bank, AMCON, and General Hydrocarbons signed a tripartite deed on outstanding exposure, allowing General Hydrocarbons to guarantee payment of a discounted $600 million exposure. On 28 October 2025, an arbitral tribunal ordered General Hydrocarbons to pay First Bank $112,100 and N111.25 million in legal and arbitration costs. Justice Akaah Kumai warned that failure to comply would attract a 10 per cent annual interest rate. The tribunal dismissed allegations that First Bank sabotaged alternative financing arrangements, ruling that General Hydrocarbons was not entitled to damages or compensation.
Receivership battle
In September 2025, 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. Despite this, AMCON appointed Seyi Akinwunmi as receiver/manager, who announced his appointment in a newspaper advertisement on 6 November 2025. AMCON then requested thirty-four financial institutions to block access to General Hydrocarbons' assets. Mr Akinwunmi told PREMIUM TIMES, "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." However, Justice Lewis-Allagoa later quashed the move, stating it ran contrary to a court order. In December 2025, the Lagos Division of the Federal High Court struck out the order empowering AMCON to enforce receivership, with Justice Akintayo Aluko ruling that the receiver/manager's suit was an abuse of court process.
