The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) have been ordered by a Federal Capital Territory (FCT) high court to freeze N7.15 billion associated with Parallex Bank Limited.
After FHT Mega Express Limited filed an ex parte application, Hauwa Gummi, a judge of the high court located in Asokoro, Abuja, gave the ruling.
FHT Mega Express identified Parallex Bank Limited as the first respondent in the lawsuit with the number CV/4737/2025. The CBN and NDIC were named as the second and third respondents, respectively.
The court ordered the CBN and NDIC to withhold all funds owed to the bank, totalling N7,154,677,000, in the interim ruling dated December 18, 2025.
While the motion on notice is being heard and decided, the judge ordered that the money be moved into an interest-bearing account under the financial institutions’ custody and control.
The court granted the applicant’s requested relief and postponed the hearing of the substantive motion until January 15, 2026.
Tolu Babalaye, the attorney for FHT Mega Express, filed the ex parte application, which was backed by a 49-paragraph statement that O. Yomi Sholoye deposed.
According to court records, Parallex Bank, the CBN, and the NDIC were among the respondents who received hearing letters.
BACKGROUND
The disagreement stemmed from a financial arrangement between FHT Mega Express and Parallex Bank in 2023 regarding money placed for the issuance of letters of credit (LC), according to court documents that are currently public.
The applicant claims that FHT Mega Express has an account with Parallex Bank into which it placed N7.15 billion as cash collateral for the creation of an LC worth $7.31 million with the goal of facilitating international commercial operations.
The applicant informed the court that on June 7, 2023, Parallex Bank made an indicative offer of banking facilities, guaranteeing that the LC would be granted as soon as the cash collateral was supplied and that foreign exchange sourcing would start right away.
FHT Mega Express, however, claimed that the bank did not use the money for the intended purpose and did not issue the letters of credit as promised.
The applicant claimed that during a time of FX market volatility, the bank postponed the purchase of foreign currency instead of carrying out the transaction, which resulted in a substantial rise in exchange rates.
The business also claimed that Parallex Bank demanded more money from the applicant to compensate what it called an FX differential when the imported products arrived in Nigeria.
FHT Mega Express maintained that it had met all of its responsibilities by supplying the entire naira equivalent needed for the transaction and claimed that the demand resulted from the bank’s tardiness.
The applicant also claimed that the containers were abandoned and then put up for auction by the Nigeria Customs Service (NSC) to third parties after the bank refused to produce the bill of lading for the imported items.
The applicant claims that numerous requests for the transaction to be completed or for the deposited money to be returned were denied, which led to the legal action.
The applicant told the court that the order sought was aimed at preserving the funds and preventing their dissipation before the substantive issues are determined.
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