The Federal High Court in Lagos has ordered the freezing of bank accounts linked to Petrocam Trading Nigeria Limited and its principal, Patrick Ilo, over an alleged debt of more than N9 billion owed to Zenith Bank Plc.
Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke issued the interim order on Wednesday in Suit No: FHC/L/CS/393/2026 after an ex parte application filed by Zenith Bank seeking to secure funds allegedly owed by the company.
In the ruling, the court restrained the defendants from withdrawing, transferring or otherwise dealing with funds up to N9,057,511,855.63 pending the determination of a motion on notice.
The judge held that the restriction would remain in place while the court considers the substantive application.
“An interim order is hereby granted restraining the defendants/respondents, whether by themselves, their agents, privies or assigns, from withdrawing, transferring, dissipating or otherwise dealing with any funds up to the sum of N9,057,511,855.63 pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice,” the court ruled.
In a further move to secure the funds, the court also ordered the freezing of accounts linked to Bank Verification Number (BVN) 22141926401, which the bank alleged is used by Ilo to operate Petrocam’s financial accounts.
Justice Aneke directed all financial institutions operating within the jurisdiction of the court to immediately place a lien or “Post-No-Debit” restriction on any account associated with the BVN until further orders.
“All financial institutions within the jurisdiction of this honourable court are hereby directed to place a lien or post-no-debit restriction on all accounts linked to BVN 22141926401 pending further orders of the court,” the ruling stated.
The order extends beyond conventional banks to include major players in Nigeria’s electronic payment ecosystem.
Joined as respondents in the suit are Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System, Interswitch Limited and Interswitch Financial Inclusion Services Limited.
The court directed the institutions to disclose details of all accounts linked to the BVN, including balances and recent transactions.
Justice Aneke ordered the respondents to file an affidavit within seven days detailing all accounts connected to the BVN, the balances in those accounts and their transactional history for the preceding six months.
According to court documents filed by Zenith Bank, the dispute arose from a credit facility granted to Petrocam for petroleum import transactions.
The bank stated that the facility was subject to several pre-disbursement conditions, including the company’s formal acceptance of the loan through authorised signatories and submission of a board resolution approving the borrowing.
Petrocam was also required to disclose any existing indebtedness to other lenders, including details of facility limits, outstanding balances and collateral pledged.
Other conditions included the domiciliation of sales proceeds and Sovereign Debt Note subsidy payments from Oando Plc and Total Nigeria Plc into the company’s account with Zenith Bank.
Court filings further revealed that Petrocam was required to submit relevant contract agreements for the bank’s approval and provide a five per cent counterpart contribution for each transaction.
The facility agreement also required the company to submit quarterly management accounts within 60 days after the end of each quarter and audited annual financial statements within 120 days.
Additionally, Petrocam was mandated to route all import duty payments and Letters of Credit through its Zenith Bank account, establish Letters of Credit for petroleum imports and obtain comprehensive marine insurance naming the bank as the first loss payee.
To ensure compliance with the financing arrangement, the bank appointed General Marine and Oil Services Ltd to monitor petroleum product warehousing on behalf of Petrocam at the company’s expense.
The agreement also imposed foreign exchange obligations, authorising Zenith Bank to settle maturing Usance obligations at an interest rate of 12 per cent if Petrocam failed to provide the required funds.
According to the bank, the company also agreed to bear all legal, recovery and related costs in the event of default.
The court also granted Zenith Bank permission to serve the defendants through substituted means.
Justice Aneke ruled that the defendants could be served at their last known address in Victoria Island, Lagos.
“Leave is hereby granted to the applicant to serve the defendants/respondents by substituted means at their last known address in Victoria Island, Lagos,” the judge held.
The ex parte application was argued by Chief A.A. Aribisala (SAN) on behalf of Zenith Bank.
Following the ruling, the court adjourned the matter to March 17, 2026, for mention.