Lagos Court Voids AMCON-Backed Receivership Over General Hydrocarbons
A Federal High Court in Lagos has voided the receivership placed on General Hydrocarbons Limited (GHL), faulting the process through which the order was obtained and describing the suit that produced it as an abuse of court procedure.
Justice Adetayo Aluko, in a ruling delivered on Friday, set aside the interim order that had handed control of GHL and its assets to a receiver-manager appointed by the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), Mr. Sevi Akinwunmi.
The decision followed a preliminary objection raised by GHL’s Chairman, Mr. Nduka Obaigbena, who challenged the court’s jurisdiction to entertain the suit filed by Akinwunmi.
The receiver-manager had approached the court seeking judicial backing to enforce the receivership over the oil and gas firm.
In upholding Obaigbena’s objection, Justice Aluko found that the suit should not have been brought in the first place, given the existence of an earlier and substantive case already pending before the same court. That earlier matter, registered as FHC/L/CS/1903/2025, was instituted by General Hydrocarbons Limited against AMCON and three others.
The court noted that Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa, who is handling the earlier case, had on September 23, 2025, issued clear orders restraining AMCON and its agents from appointing or continuing with the appointment of any receiver over GHL and its assets.
Justice Aluko held that Akinwunmi, having been appointed by AMCON, fell squarely within the category of persons bound by that restraining order.
Beyond the issue of jurisdiction, the court took a dim view of how the later suit was commenced.
Justice Aluko held that material facts, particularly the existence of the earlier suit and the subsisting restraining orders, were not disclosed to the court when the interim orders of October 24, 2025, were sought and granted.
According to the judge, full disclosure would likely have altered the course of events, as the interim receivership order would not have been made had the court been properly informed.
After reviewing both cases, Justice Aluko concluded that the parties and subject matter were either identical or substantially similar, leaving no justification for filing a fresh action on the same dispute.
The court stressed that all issues between the parties could be resolved within the framework of the earlier suit already before the Federal High Court.
The judge further warned that such conduct, if unchecked, could erode public confidence in the judicial process and result in an unnecessary drain on judicial time and resources.
On these grounds, the court dismissed the suit in its entirety and nullified all interim orders made in relation to it, effectively restoring General Hydrocarbons Limited to its pre-receivership position.
The ruling marks a significant procedural victory for GHL in its ongoing legal battle with AMCON over control of its assets.
