BY FRONTLINE REPORTERS

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 $40 million debt owed to Petrichor Energy FZCO.

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

Following the registration, the Nigerian court issued writs of attachment and sale dated May 15, directing the seizure and sale of assets belonging to Bashar. A separate writ covered Bashar and Ultimate Oil & Gas FZCO.

Court enforcement officers began executing the writs on Wednesday, September 23, 2026, serving and posting enforcement documents at properties linked to the respondents in Lagos and Abuja.

Counsel challenges enforcement in Abuja

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

Sheriff questioned whether the officials had produced what he described as the appropriate Nigerian court documents authorising the seizure of the property.

He argued that following the registration of the English judgment in Nigeria, Bashar ought to have been served with a motion on notice and given 14 days within which 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,” the lawyer said.

Sheriff also claimed that the parties were negotiating a settlement and that Bashar had made a N1 billion payment 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,” he said.

Vehicles attempt to leave compound

Tension reportedly rose during the enforcement exercise when associates of Bashar attempted to drive several vehicles out of the Maitama property.

The vehicles included Toyota Highlander SUVs, a Mercedes-Benz C-Class and a Range Rover Sport.

Police officers subsequently locked the gates to prevent further movement of vehicles from the premises, although the vehicles were later seen leaving the compound at high speed.

The enforcement action is the latest development in a long-running commercial dispute arising from petroleum-product transactions between Petrichor Energy, formerly known as CE Energy DMCC, and Ultimate Oil & Gas between 2022 and 2023.

Dispute over petroleum supplies

According to court proceedings, Petrichor supplied gasoil and Jet-A1 aviation fuel to Ultimate Oil & Gas, but the latter allegedly failed to make full and timely payments.

The unpaid obligations subsequently accumulated to approximately $40 million, triggering arbitration and litigation across multiple jurisdictions, including 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. The combined liability was subsequently put at approximately $40.2 million in related proceedings.

The parties later entered into a structured payment agreement in April 2025.

However, according to the English court proceedings, Ultimate subsequently defaulted on agreed instalments despite being granted extensions.

By January 2026, the company was expected to have paid approximately AED45.7 million, but had paid only about AED8.7 million, leaving a shortfall of roughly AED37 million.

Worldwide freezing order

The English proceedings also considered evidence concerning property sales and other transactions involving assets before the court granted a worldwide freezing order in March 2026 against Bashar and Ultimate Oil & Gas.

The order covered assets worth approximately $40 million across Nigeria, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and France and restricted the defendants from disposing of or otherwise dealing with assets within its scope.

One of the assets identified in the proceedings was a Nigerian property valued at approximately $21.3 million.

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

Enforcement across jurisdictions

The latest action by the Federal High Court represents Petrichor Energy’s effort to enforce the judgment and recover the sums awarded in the underlying proceedings.

Court documents also indicated that separate enforcement proceedings were ongoing before the DIFC Courts under case reference CFI 118/2025.

The case materials further stated that Bashar was sentenced to one year in prison by a Dubai criminal court on January 30, 2026, in connection with financial misconduct involving dishonoured cheques totalling AED126.45 million.

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

The latest enforcement exercise in Lagos and Abuja therefore represents another stage in a dispute that has moved through several jurisdictions and legal processes, as Petrichor seeks to recover the outstanding amount from Bashar and the companies involved.