Officers of the Nigerian Navy have impounded a crude oil vessel, FPSO Vessel Tamara Tokoni, belonging to Nduka Obaigbena-led General Hydrocarbons, ENigeria Newspaper reports.
Nduka Obaigbena, a Nigerian media mogul and founder of Thisday Newspaper and Arise Television, had been locked in a financial dispute with First Bank of Nigeria under the chairmanship of controversial businessman Femi Otedola.
First Bank of Nigeria, the oldest banking brand in the country, which is currently battling to save itself from a takeover by the Central Bank of Nigeria, had alleged that General Hydrocarbons was indebted to it in the tune of $225.8 million as at September 30, 2024.
The alleged indebtedness saw the lender obtain an order of court to freeze the company’s entire assets in all Nigerian banks.
According to Premium Times, First Bank obtained another court order from a Federal High Court in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, where the court granted an order to arrest and detain the crude oil cargo on board the Floating Production Storage and Offloading Vessel, Tamara Tokoni.
ENigeria Newspaper reports that on January 9, 2025, a ruling by Justice E. A. Obile ordered the detention of the crude oil cargo on board FPSO Tamara Tokoni pending the provision of a “satisfactory guarantee from a first-class Nigerian bank of $19.7 million plus interest and costs by the said defendants.”
The order also directed officers of the Nigerian Navy, Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, and Harbour Master of the Nigerian Ports Authority to provide the necessary assistance in implementing the order of arrest of the FPSO vessel Tamara Tokoni.
