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Court Freezes 35 Bank Accounts Linked To Nduka Obaigbena’s Company

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A major legal blow has hit Nigeria’s oil and financial sectors as the Federal High Court in Lagos ordered a global freeze on the assets of General Hydrocarbons Limited (GHL) and its key directors, including publisher and businessman Nduka Obaigbena, under a sweeping Mareva injunction with worldwide effect, JomogNews reports.

 

The order, granted on October 24, 2025, by Justice Akintayo Aluko, effectively froze all GHL assets across 35 financial institutions and empowered a court-appointed receiver to take over the company’s most valuable assets, Oil Mining License (OML) 120, one of Nigeria’s richest offshore oil blocks.

 

According to court documents obtained by Pointblanknews.com, banks and fintech firms such as GTBank, Access Bank, Zenith Bank, Paystack, Flutterwave, and PiggyVest have been directed to place a post-no-debit restriction on all accounts linked to GHL and its affiliates.

 

The law firm Adedeji & Owotomo LLP, representing the plaintiffs, described the order as “a necessary safeguard to prevent asset dissipation and ensure accountability in the face of significant financial exposure.”

 

A senior legal analyst familiar with the matter said the ruling amounts to “a full-scale economic lockdown,” noting that “every financial institution named must now freeze, report, and disclose all funds tied to GHL — the ripple effect will be massive.”

 

In compliance with the order, the affected banks must file affidavits within seven days disclosing balances on all frozen accounts to help determine the full scope of GHL’s financial operations.

 

At the center of the legal action is OML 120, a strategic oil block central to Nigeria’s petroleum economy. The injunction places the asset under judicial receivership, effectively suspending all commercial activity linked to it.

 

The court appointed Mr. Seyi Akinwunmi, FBR, as the receiver to take over and preserve GHL’s assets, including its Ikoyi head office and its full interest in OML 120. Justice Aluko also directed the Nigerian Navy, the Inspector General of Police, the NNPC, and other security agencies to assist in enforcing the order and maintaining peace.

 

Legal experts, however, warn that the injunction carries risks for the applicants. Under court rules, any party seeking a Mareva injunction must provide an undertaking as to damages, meaning that if the court later rules the order was wrongly granted, the applicants could be liable for extensive financial losses suffered by the defendants.

 

“The court has essentially told the applicants: if you’re wrong, you pay,” a senior commercial litigator told Pointblanknews.com, adding that potential liability “could run into billions, considering the scale of assets involved.”

 

A former Petroleum Ministry official also cautioned that prolonged disruption at OML 120 could “trigger fiscal strain, reduce crude output, limit dollar inflows, and heighten market anxiety.”

 

The ruling has reignited conversations about corporate governance and transparency in Nigeria’s energy sector, where disputes over asset ownership and control remain frequent.

 

The case is expected to resume on November 10, 2025, when Justice Aluko will hear arguments on whether to sustain or lift the injunction.

 

Until then, General Hydrocarbons Limited; once a major player in Nigeria’s offshore oil industry and its directors, Nduka Obaigbena, Efe Damilola Obaigbena, and Olabisi Eka Obaigbena, remain under a comprehensive judicial freeze as the high-stakes legal battle continues.

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How 2018 Federal Legal Advice Exonerated Saraki In Offa Robbery Case

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In light of the Kwara State Government’s fresh prosecution of Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki and his successor over the Offa robbery, fresh facts have emerged on why the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Mr. E. U. (Etsu Umar) Mohammed gave the duo a clean bill of health.

The Federal Director of Public Prosecutions cleared former Senate President Bukola Saraki of involvement in the Offa bank robbery in 2018, citing no evidence of a connection.

It was gathered that the DPP reviewed a 16-page police report prepared and signed by Abba Kyari, a Deputy Commissioner of Police and then head of the Inspector-General of Police Intelligence Response Team (IGP-IRT) at Force Headquarters, Abuja. The report detailed investigations into the April 5, 2018, multiple bank robbery attack in Offa, Kwara State.

The DPP in his first report dated June 22, 2018 and signed on behalf of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, prepared a five page legal advice in which he noted in paragraph 5 (f) that “for the Senate President (Saraki) and the Kwara State Governor (Ahmed), his office is unable to establish from the evidence in the interim report a nexus between the alleged offence and the suspects. Hence, it is our advice that further and thorough investigation in this regard be carried out”.

Following the submission of a second report by the police investigating team to his office on July 27, 2018, the DPP prepared a second legal advice, which was dated August 23, 2018. The three-page legal advice also has only three paragraphs.

In paragraph 3 (vi), he noted that “with regards to the Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki, since there is no departure from the earlier findings in the interim report, this office is still unable to establish any prima facie case against him for any offences of criminal conspiracy, armed robbery, and culpable homicide punishable with death”.

Both legal advices had recommended six people for prosecution. They are: Ayoade Akinnibosun, Ibikunle Ogunleye, Adeola Ibrahim, Salawudeen Azeez, Niyi Ogundiran, and Michael Adiukwu.

One of the suspects, Michael Adiukwu, later died in police custody, while the other five had since been tried at the High Court in Ilorin.

During the trial, the suspects revealed how they were coerced into incriminating Senator Bukola Saraki.

They mentioned several inducements dangled before them, including money and the promise of a visa to travel out of the country.

The suspects have since been convicted and their convictions confirmed by the Court of Appeal. The matter is now pending before the apex court, the Supreme Court of Nigeria.

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₦400m Ransom Demanded As Gunmen Abduct Another Kwara Ruler

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Terrorists have abducted a traditional ruler in Olayinka community, located in the Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara State, Oba Salman Olátúnjí Aweda and are demanding a ₦400 million ransom for his release.

The abduction occurred on April 18, 2026, when armed men, suspected to be militia herdsmen, invaded the community and took the monarch, his wife, and another resident into the forest.

According to JomogNews, residents who witnessed the incident said the terrorists, numbering over 10, invaded the monarch’s residence around Saturday midnight, forced the door open, and abducted him alongside another person in the house.

The assailants reportedly led both victims into the bush.

Chairman of Ifelodun Local Government Area, Mr Abdulrasheed Femi Yusuf, visited the community on Saturday on a sympathy visit and assured residents that efforts were underway to secure the monarch’s release.

“We are deeply concerned about this incident, and we are taking swift and decisive action in collaboration with security agencies,” he said.

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Living Faith Church Founder Declares Week Of Vengeance Against Insecurity Sponsors

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Bishop David Oyedepo, General Overseer of Living Faith Church Worldwide, has declared that bandits and their sponsors will face divine judgment and retribution within seven days.

Speaking on Sunday, April 19, 2026, during a service themed “Covenant Day of Vengeance” at the church’s headquarters in Ota, Ogun State, the cleric stated that those responsible for killings and kidnappings would face imminent consequences.

“I declare judgement on those who caused these tragedies and their supporters in the name of Jesus,” he said.

The cleric further asserted that divine retribution would occur within a short timeframe.

“Unless I am not sent, this will happen in the next seven days,” he added.

Oyedepo also expressed confidence that Nigerians would soon witness outcomes of what he described as divine intervention, noting that the coming days would bring “testimonies of vengeance.”

 

 

 

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