- Safiu Kehinde
Nigerian oil magnate, Bashar Rahmaniyya, has lost his properties in Lagos and Abuja following court’s order directing the takeover of the properties by law enforcement agencies over $40 million debt.
The enforcement action follows an order issued on the 25th of February 2026 by Federal High Court, Lagos Judicial Division, granting Petrichor Energy FZCO leave to register a judgment of the High Court of Justice of England and Wales and registering that judgment for purposes of enforcement in Nigeria.
The enforcement operation was carried out with enforcement documents served and posted at properties connected to the respondents.
According to court documents, the dispute arose from contracts for the supply of various parcels of gasoil and Jet A1 aviation fuel.
The business relationship began with five spot contracts before the parties entered into a term contract on April 25, 2023.
Petrichor said Ultimate initially paid for products supplied under the spot contracts but later defaulted on interest payments and demurrage charges associated with some of the contracts.
On November 22, 2023, Petrichor commenced arbitration proceedings at the Dubai International Arbitration Centre (DIAC) to recover the outstanding interest and demurrage.
Two cargoes were subsequently delivered under the term contract. However, according to court documents, Ultimate again failed to fulfil its payment obligations.
Petrichor subsequently obtained summary judgments against the respondents in February 2025.
Under the judgments, Ultimate was ordered to pay AED22.8 million, while Bashar, under his personal guarantee, was ordered to pay AED122.1 million, in addition to interest and costs.
The parties later entered into another payment agreement in April 2025, providing for structured instalments and limited grace periods for delayed payments.
However, the court said Ultimate subsequently defaulted on multiple instalments despite extensions and partial payments.
Court records put the outstanding amount under one of the summary judgments against Bashar at AED120,089,582.69 and £94,025.56, equivalent to about $32.7 million.
A further AED27,491,540.66 and £63,859.28, approximately $7.5 million, was outstanding under another summary judgment against Ultimate.
On March 30, 2026, the UK High Court granted a post-judgment worldwide freezing order against Bashar and Ultimate over the unpaid debt.
The order restricted the defendants from disposing of or dealing with assets covered by the order across Nigeria, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and France.
In granting the order, the court found evidence indicating a risk that assets could be dissipated.
The judge referred to a March 15, 2026 conversation in which Bashar allegedly threatened to dispose his assets if Petrichor did not accept Ultimate’s proposed payment terms.
“I consider that this does, indeed, provide direct evidence of a risk of dissipation,” the judge said.
The court also considered the respondents’ alleged continued failure to comply with court orders and previous findings of contempt in separate proceedings.
According to the judgment, Bashar had sold properties in the UAE and UK worth about $3.81 million and AED13.42 million, approximately $3.66 million.
The court consequently held that there was “a good arguable case” that assets could be moved and found it appropriate to grant the worldwide freezing order.
The writs issued by the Federal High Court direct the sheriff to recover the sums due through the attachment and sale of goods and chattels belonging to the respondents, as well as the seizure of specified monetary and financial assets.
The enforcement represents the latest step in Petrichor’s efforts to recover sums arising from the underlying proceedings.
The materials also state that enforcement proceedings remain active before the DIFC courts under reference CFI 118/2025.
The judgment debt in the Petrichor proceedings is stated to be approximately $40 million, including accrued interest and costs.
