The financial woes appear to be mounting for Nduka Obaigbena, Chairman of THISDAY Group and Arise TV, as his oil company, General Hydrocarbons Limited (GHL), and Arise News have reportedly been evicted from their upscale Ikoyi office building.
The reason for the eviction? An alleged three (3) years’ worth of unpaid rent, totaling a staggering million dollars.
DECENCY GLOBAL NEWS reports while visiting the GHL office at 16 Temple Road, Ikoyi, Lagos, and confirmed that the firm is no longer a commercial tenant at the premises.
This development comes as Obaigbena, long known for recurring issues with timely salary payments and contract breaches—which notably led to his THISDAY Newspaper being ejected from South Africa—finds himself embroiled in a significant legal battle with First Bank of Nigeria Limited.
The dispute centers on claims of diversion of oil proceeds by General Hydrocarbons Limited, a company where Obaigbena is both a director and a major shareholder.
First Bank is seeking to recover a substantial sum of US$225,802,379.69 from GHL, representing the outstanding indebtedness on the oil company’s account as of September 30, 2024, stemming from granted loan facilities.
The bank’s court filings allege that GHL and its directors were actively diverting funds and dissipating assets outside the court’s jurisdiction. As evidence, the bank presented Bills of Lading showing the shipment of 128,724 US barrels and 114,359 US barrels of crude oil from the FPSO to France as recently as November 2024.
Consequently, a court had initially frozen the accounts of General Hydrocarbons Limited, whose directors also include Efe Damilola Obaigbena and Olabisi Obaigbena, in connection with the outstanding loans owed to First Bank.
A Shifting Legal Landscape
The legal landscape surrounding the dispute has been dynamic. On January 29, 2025, a Federal High Court in Lagos discharged a Mareva injunction and other injunctive orders that had previously restrained banks from releasing or dealing with any monies or assets due to GHL.
GHL and other defendants had argued that the court was misled in granting the initial order. In January 2025, the Lagos court reversed the Mareva injunction, citing that it contravened an existing order from a court of concurrent jurisdiction.
In response, First Bank issued a statement in February, confirming it had appealed the discharge of the Mareva order against General Hydrocarbons. The bank also applied for an injunction or suspension of the order pending the determination of its appeal.
First Bank further appealed the Federal High Court’s decision to dismiss the suit it had initiated against the energy firm, particularly its declaration that the matter was not a maritime claim but rather a debt recovery case.
The bank expressed dismay that the court declared the arrest order against the cargo on the FPSO expired within 14 days of its issuance, given its ex parte nature. Despite these setbacks, First Bank maintains that the crude oil cargoes on the FPSO Tamara Tokoni belonging to General Hydrocarbons remain arrested.
Recent Setback in Port Harcourt
Adding to GHL’s challenges, a Federal High Court in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, today dismissed an application by General Hydrocarbons. GHL had requested the court to serve its orders on the parties to a lawsuit involving First Bank of Nigeria Limited over the seizure of a crude oil cargo.
According to court documents seen by our Corresponden, Justice E.A. Obile refused the order on May 7, 2025, on the grounds that an appeal in the matter had already been entered at the Court of Appeal. This renders the lower court functus officio, meaning it lacks the jurisdiction to consider General Hydrocarbons’ request.
DECENCY GLOBAL NEWS reports that the series of legal skirmishes and the recent eviction paint a challenging picture for Obaigbena’s business interests amidst the ongoing high-stakes financial and legal battles.
