The Federal High Court has dealt a major setback to FirstBank after the Chief Judge dismissed its application seeking the reassignment of the FBNQuest Merchant Bank versus Nestoil case pending in Lagos.
The Chief Judge held that the application lacked both factual and legal basis. The court further ruled that the Supreme Court had found no fault with the conduct of the trial judge, Justice Osiagor, and had directed that the matter be heard expeditiously.
The ruling comes as Nestoil Limited and Neconde Energy Limited intensify efforts to pursue the $1.8 billion damages suit against FirstBank, Access Bank, Zenith Bank, Ecobank, UBA, Union Bank and others.
In the suit, the companies allege that actions taken by the Receiver-Manager severely disrupted operations at OML 42, causing crude oil production to decline from about 60,000 barrels per day to less than 40,000 barrels per day. They claim the disruptions damaged oil production activities and resulted in substantial financial losses.
As of the time of filing this report and our investigation in Abuja, the defendant banks had not filed any defence to the claims.
Legal observers say the rejection of the reassignment application and the advancement of the multi-billion-dollar damages suit significantly raise the stakes in what is fast becoming one of Nigeria's most closely watched corporate and banking disputes.