In a dramatic escalation of the legal battle between General Hydrocarbons Limited (GHL), owned by Nduka Obaigbena, and First Bank of Nigeria, allegations of negligence, contractual breaches, and financial impropriety have emerged.
Obaigbena, Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of the ThisDay Media Group and Arise Group, accused First Bank of abandoning 93 oil rig workers, both Nigerian and foreign, in life-threatening conditions aboard the Blackford Dolphin rig during a contractual dispute.
Meanwhile, a Federal High Court in Port Harcourt has ordered the seizure of GHL’s Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel, Tamara Tokoni, over a $225.8 million debt allegedly owed to the bank.
The contentious oil exploration contract, initiated in 2021, involved First Bank funding GHL’s oil activities in exchange for 50% profit over eight years.
However, GHL alleges that First Bank failed to disburse funds within the agreed timeline, delaying payments by up to 70 days and leaving the Blackford Dolphin rig workers without food, water, or fuel.
“This failure to meet financial obligations led to an international incident on October 7, 2023, when the rig declared a near-MAYDAY,” GHL said, adding that they stepped in to save lives by directly paying suppliers.
As the dispute rages, Justice E.A. Obile of the Federal High Court ordered the seizure of the FPSO vessel Tamara Tokoni, citing GHL’s alleged indebtedness.
First Bank claimed GHL owed $225.8 million as of September 2024, accusing the company of fund mismanagement.
In a related ruling by Justice Deinde Dipeolu of Lagos, Mr. Obaigbena and his family members were blacklisted from moving assets outside the court’s jurisdiction, following allegations that GHL assumed a debt of about $718 million.
Obaigbena denied First Bank’s allegations, stating the bank reneged on its obligations and used GHL’s efforts to stabilize rig operations against them.
“We saved 93 lives and provided evidence of payments made to service providers, which the bank is now misrepresenting as fund diversion,” GHL said in a statement.
First Bank, whose embattled Chairman Femi Otedola faces a looming shareholder ouster, has yet to comment on the accusations.
The financial institution had previously obtained an ex parte order to freeze GHL’s accounts in December 2024.
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