The Federal High Court has commenced the seizure and sale of assets linked to Alhaji Abdulrahman Musa Bashar, Chairman of Rahamaniyya Group of Companies, to recover a judgment debt of about $40 million arising from petroleum product transactions.
The enforcement proceedings commenced on Wednesday in Lagos and Abuja following writs of attachment and sale issued by the court in favour of Petrichor Energy FZCO.
The writs authorised the Sheriff of the court to attach and sell goods, chattels, money and other financial assets belonging to the judgment debtors to satisfy the outstanding judgment sums.
One of the writs specifically directs the Sheriff to levy AED27.93 million and £433,423.46, representing part of the outstanding debt, in addition to the costs of issuing and executing the writ.
The writ also empowers the Sheriff to seize banknotes, cheques, bills of exchange, promissory notes, securities and other financial instruments belonging to the judgment debtors, or sufficient portions thereof to satisfy the judgment.
The enforcement documents have been served and posted at properties connected with the respondents in Lagos and Abuja.
The Nigerian enforcement action followed a Feb. 25, 2026 order of the Federal High Court, Lagos Judicial Division, granting Petrichor Energy leave to register and enforce in Nigeria a judgment of the High Court of Justice of England and Wales.
The order was made pursuant to the Reciprocal Enforcement of Judgments Ordinance, Cap. 175, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 1958.
The Federal High Court consequently registered as a Nigerian judgment the decision delivered by the High Court of Justice, Business and Property Courts of England and Wales, Commercial Court, King’s Bench Division, on Feb. 14, 2025.
The judgment arose from Case No. CL-2024-000225, CE Energy DMCC v. Alhaji Abdulrahman Musa Bashar.
Petrichor Energy, formerly known as CE Energy DMCC, had filed the Nigerian application on Feb. 12, 2026, seeking recognition and enforcement of the English judgment.
The underlying dispute arose from petroleum product transactions involving Petrichor Energy and Ultimate Oil & Gas.
Between 2022 and 2023, Petrichor supplied gasoil and Jet-A1 aviation fuel to Ultimate Oil & Gas, after which disputes arose over unpaid sums.
The English High Court subsequently delivered judgment on Feb. 14, 2025, in proceedings involving Bashar and Ultimate Oil & Gas.
According to the court materials, Bashar’s liability under a personal guarantee was about $32.7 million, while Ultimate Oil & Gas had a separate liability of about $7.5 million, before interest and costs.
The DIFC Courts later recorded that the English judgments required Bashar and Ultimate to pay specified principal sums, interest and costs, while applications for stays of execution in England had been refused.
The parties subsequently entered into a payment agreement on April 24, 2025, intended to settle the judgment sums upon full compliance with its terms.
Court materials, however, indicate that Ultimate later defaulted on several instalments.
By the end of January 2026, Ultimate was expected to have paid 10 instalments totalling about AED45.78 million but had paid approximately AED8.73 million, leaving a shortfall of about AED37.05 million.
Additional payments totalling approximately AED12.86 million were reportedly made between Feb. 5 and Feb. 28, 2026.
The dispute subsequently generated further proceedings before the English High Court.
On March 30, 2026, the court granted Petrichor Energy a post-judgment worldwide freezing order against Bashar and Ultimate Oil & Gas in relation to assets that could be used to satisfy the outstanding judgments.
The proceedings considered evidence concerning the unpaid judgments, ownership of assets and alleged attempts to deal with assets.
The judgment also referred to a March 15, 2026 telephone conversation in which Petrichor’s managing director said Bashar had threatened to dispose of his assets if a payment proposal was not accepted.
The court considered the evidence before it in determining the application for the freezing order.
The freezing order covered assets in several jurisdictions, including Nigeria, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and France.
Among the assets identified in the proceedings was a Nigerian property valued at approximately $21.3 million, according to the case materials.
The proceedings also involve petroleum products reportedly held in storage facilities in Nigeria, including products at the Rahamaniyya and Koko depots.
Court materials refer to disputes over access to and control of the stored petroleum products, including Petrichor’s attempts to inspect or sample them.
The wider dispute has involved litigation and arbitration proceedings in the UK and UAE, as well as enforcement proceedings before the Dubai International Financial Centre Courts.
The DIFC proceedings concern Petrichor’s efforts to enforce the English judgments against Bashar and Ultimate Oil & Gas.
With the English judgment now registered by the Federal High Court in Nigeria, Petrichor has moved to enforce the judgment against assets located in the country.
The May 15, 2026 writs of attachment and sale empower the court’s Sheriff to recover the specified sums through the attachment and sale of assets and seizure of financial instruments belonging to the judgment debtors.
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The latest action represents another stage in Petrichor Energy’s efforts to recover the outstanding judgment debt from assets linked to Bashar and Ultimate Oil & Gas.
The enforcement proceedings are ongoing.I can also make the headline **more punchy and newspaper-style**, while keeping the report legally cautious.
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