Zenith Bank Plc and Nigdel United Oil Company Limited over a N1.7 billion loan
facility the bank granted the oil firm to acquire an oil bloc in 2006 has taken
a legal dimension.
The bank has dragged the Minister of Petroleum Resources,
Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, and three others before a Federal High Court in
Lagos claiming ownership of the oil bloc.
Zenith Bank, in the case before Justice Okechuckwu Okeke, is
praying the court for a perpetual injunction restraining the minister, her
agents, servants, privies, or whosoever is acting on her behalf from
recognising Nigdel oil, owned by popular businessman and Delta State
politician, Prince Joseph Panawou, as the rightful owner of the OPL 233 oil
bloc since same was paid for by the bank on behalf of the oil company which it
has allegedly refused to pay back.
The bank also wants the court to make a declaration that by
the agreement between it and Nigdel Oil contained in the letters dated August
14 and September 11, 2006, Zenith Bank is entitled to be assigned the oil
company 100 per cent right interest in the said bloc.
Others joined in the suit are the Ministry of Petroleum
Resources (2nd defendant), the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (3rd
defendant) and Nigdel United Oil Company Limited (4th defendant).
Zenith Bank is also asking the court to grant a mandatory
order compelling the oil company to execute an irrevocable mandate assigning
her 100 per cent right in the bloc to the bank pursuant to the 4th defendant
failure to pay back the signature bonus to the bank.
The plaintiff is also claiming the sum of N100 million
against the 4th defendant being the legal cost incurred by it in instituting
the action before the court.
According to a statement of claim attached to the suit by the
bank, the plaintiff claimed that Nigdel United Oil Company Limited applied to
the 1st, 2nd and 3rd defendants and won a bid for an Oil Bloc Prospecting
License (PL 233) in the Nigerian 2006 mini round bidding for oil bloc and under
the terms and conditions of the grant, the 4th defendant was to pay a signature
bonus commitment of the sum of $11 million to the other defendants.
The plaintiff also maintained that in pursuance to the
bank/customer relationship existing between it and Nigdel oil, the 4th
defendant approached it for a credit facility in the said sum, which the bank
granted in two instalment of $8,280,000 and $2,780,000.
Stating further that the terms of the agreement as contained
in the offer letter that the facility shall be secured by the 4th defendant
assigning 25 per cent of its interest in favour of the bank and that by the
agreement the oil company was obligated to execute an irrevocable mandate
assigning the percentage to the bank but it failed to do this.
Zenith Bank also alleged that following the terms of the
credit facility advanced to the 4th defendant, the oil company prepared an
irrevocable mandate assigning 100 per cent of its interest in the oil bloc to
the bank to serve as security for the credit but the oil company refused to
execute the mandate.
The plaintiff also claimed that since the maturity of the
credit facility, the 4th defendant has willfully and persistently refused and
failed to liquidate same and that from the onset, the oil company has the
intention not to repay the facility and that is the reason why it failed to
execute the mandate.
Zenith Bank also alleged that as at February 20, 2011, the
sum of $15, 900, 089. 99 was outstanding in the account being the unpaid credit
facility plus interest.
However, all the defendants are yet to file their counter
affidavit to the suit.
