Court seizes Lagos, Abuja firm’s assets over $40m oil debt

Officials of the Federal High Court on Wednesday commenced enforcement proceedings against properties linked to the Chairman of Rahamaniyya Group of Companies, Alhaji Abdulrahman Musa Bashar, over an approximately $40m debt owed to Petrichor Energy FZCO.

The enforcement operation was carried out in Lagos and Abuja following a February 25, 2026, order of the Federal High Court, Lagos, granting Petrichor leave to register a judgment of the High Court of Justice of England and Wales for enforcement in Nigeria.

The Nigerian court subsequently issued writs of attachment and sale dated May 15, directing the seizure and sale of assets belonging to Bashar and, under a separate writ, Bashar and Ultimate Oil & Gas FZCO.

Enforcement officers commenced the exercise on Wednesday, September 23, 2026, across Lagos and Abuja, with court enforcement documents served and posted at properties connected to the respondents.

The enforcement was resisted at one of the properties located on Logone Close, Maitama, Abuja, where Bashar’s counsel, Mohammed Sheriff, challenged the court officials.

Sheriff faulted the officials for failing to produce what he described as proper Nigerian court documents authorising the seizure of the property.

He argued that after registration of the English judgment in Nigeria, Bashar should have been served with a motion on notice and given 14 days to respond or seek to set aside the judgment.

“This is an order of court that you have gotten from a foreign country. I believe the judge doesn’t know that you are doing this. I am sure. Because after this registration of the judgment, there has to be Motion on Notice to serve them, that this is the position of the Nigerian court, now you come and respond,” he said.

The lawyer also said the parties were negotiating a settlement, claiming that Bashar paid N1bn the previous week.

“We are aware, and they are settling. Even last week, they paid N1bn, just last week. So we cannot be expecting this, after all, you have not served us the necessary papers,” Sheriff said.

The situation became tense when associates of Bashar attempted to drive several vehicles out of the compound, including Toyota Highlander SUVs, a Mercedes-Benz C-Class and a Range Rover Sport.

Police subsequently locked the gates, although the vehicles were later observed leaving the compound at high speed.

The enforcement action is the latest development in a dispute that began with petroleum product transactions between Petrichor, formerly known as CE Energy DMCC, and Ultimate Oil & Gas between 2022 and 2023.

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Petrichor supplied gasoil and Jet-A1 aviation fuel to Ultimate, but the company allegedly failed to make full and timely payments, leaving about $40m outstanding.

The dispute subsequently spread across arbitration and court proceedings in Dubai, London and the United Arab Emirates.

In February 2025, the English High Court entered judgment against Bashar personally under a guarantee and against Ultimate Oil & Gas, with the combined liability put at about $40.2m in the subsequent proceedings.

A structured payment agreement was reached in April 2025, but the English court later noted that Ultimate defaulted on instalments despite extensions.

By January 2026, it was expected to have paid 45.7m dirhams but had paid only 8.7m dirhams, leaving a 37m-dirham shortfall.

The court also considered evidence of property sales and other asset-related transactions before granting a worldwide freezing order in March 2026 against Bashar and Ultimate.

The order covered about $40m in assets across Nigeria, the UAE, the UK and France, restricting the defendants from disposing of or dealing with assets within its scope.

Among the assets identified in the proceedings was a Nigerian property valued at about $21.3m.

The proceedings also concerned gasoil and Jet-A1 cargoes stored at Rahamaniyya depots in Lagos and Koko, which Petrichor sought to use towards recovery of the debt.

The latest enforcement action represents Petrichor Energy’s effort to recover sums awarded in the underlying proceedings.

The case materials stated that separate enforcement proceedings were also active before the DIFC Courts under case reference CFI 118/2025.

They further stated that Bashar was sentenced to one year in prison by a Dubai criminal court on January 30, 2026, over financial misconduct involving dishonoured cheques totalling AED126.45m.

Ultimate Oil and Gas FZCO was described in the materials as the UAE-registered offshore trading vehicle of the Rahamaniyya Group, of which Bashar is chairman.