The Federal High Court has commenced the seizure and sale of properties linked to the Chairman of Rahamaniyya Group of Companies, Alhaji Abdulrahman Musa Bashar, over an approximately $40m debt owed to Petrichor Energy FZCO.
According to The Punch, the enforcement exercise began on Wednesday, September 23, 2026, in Lagos and Abuja, following a February 25 order of the Federal High Court in Lagos permitting Petrichor to register an English court judgment for enforcement in Nigeria.
The Nigerian court subsequently issued writs of attachment and sale dated May 15, directing the seizure and disposal of assets belonging to Bashar and, under a separate writ, Bashar and Ultimate Oil & Gas FZCO.
Court enforcement officials served and displayed the relevant documents at properties associated with the respondents as the exercise got underway in the two cities.
However, the enforcement was resisted at a property on Logone Close, Maitama, Abuja, where Bashar’s lawyer, Mohammed Sheriff, challenged the court officials over the process.
Sheriff questioned why the officials had not produced what he described as appropriate Nigerian court documents authorising the seizure.
He argued that following the registration of the English judgment, Bashar ought to have been served with a motion on notice and allowed 14 days to respond or apply 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,” he said.
The lawyer also claimed that the parties were negotiating a settlement and that Bashar had made a N1bn 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,” Sheriff said.
Tension reportedly rose at the property when associates of Bashar attempted to move several vehicles from the compound, including Toyota Highlander SUVs, a Mercedes-Benz C-Class and a Range Rover Sport.
Police officers subsequently locked the gates, although the vehicles were later seen leaving the premises at high speed.
The dispute stems from petroleum product transactions between Petrichor, formerly known as CE Energy DMCC, and Ultimate Oil & Gas between 2022 and 2023.
Petrichor supplied gasoil and Jet-A1 aviation fuel to Ultimate, but the latter allegedly failed to make full and timely payments, resulting in an outstanding debt of about $40m.
The disagreement subsequently led to arbitration and court proceedings in 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, with the combined liability later put at about $40.2m.
A payment arrangement was reached in April 2025, but the English court later found that Ultimate had defaulted on instalments despite extensions granted to the company.
By January 2026, the company was expected to have paid 45.7m dirhams but had paid only 8.7m dirhams, leaving a shortfall of 37m dirhams.
The court also considered evidence relating to property sales and other asset transactions before issuing a worldwide freezing order in March 2026 against Bashar and Ultimate.
The order covered assets worth about $40m in Nigeria, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and France, restricting the defendants from disposing of or dealing with assets covered by the order.
One of the properties identified in the proceedings was a Nigerian asset valued at approximately $21.3m.
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.
The latest enforcement action is part of Petrichor Energy’s efforts to recover the money awarded in the underlying proceedings.
The case materials also indicated that separate enforcement proceedings were ongoing before the DIFC Courts under case reference CFI 118/2025.
They further stated that Bashar was sentenced to one year in prison by a Dubai criminal court on January 30, 2026, over financial misconduct involving dishonoured cheques totalling AED126.45m.
Ultimate Oil and Gas FZCO was described in the court materials as the UAE-registered offshore trading arm of the Rahamaniyya Group, chaired by Bashar.
