Officials of the Federal High Court have commenced enforcement proceedings against properties linked to Alhaji Abdulrahman Musa Bashar, chairman of Rahamaniyya Group of Companies, over a $40m debt owed to Petrichor Energy FZCO. The enforcement operation was carried out in Lagos and Abuja following a February 25, 2026, court order granting Petrichor leave to register a judgment of the High Court of Justice of England and Wales for enforcement in Nigeria.
The dispute began with 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 company allegedly failed to make full and timely payments, leaving about $40m outstanding. The dispute subsequently spread across 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 put at about $40.2m in the subsequent proceedings. A structured payment agreement was reached in April 2025, but the English court later noted that Ultimate defaulted on instalments despite extensions. By January 2026, it was expected to have paid 45.7m dirhams but had paid only 8.7m dirhams, leaving a 37m-dirham shortfall.
The court also considered evidence of property sales and other asset-related transactions before granting a worldwide freezing order in March 2026 against Bashar and Ultimate. The order covered about $40m in assets across Nigeria, the UAE, the UK, and France, restricting the defendants from disposing of or dealing with assets within its scope. Among the assets identified in the proceedings was a Nigerian property valued at about $21.3m.
Enforcement officers commenced the exercise on Wednesday, September 23, 2026, across Lagos and Abuja, with court enforcement documents served and posted at properties connected to the respondents. However, the enforcement was resisted at one of the properties located on Logone Close, Maitama, Abuja, where Bashar’s counsel, Mohammed Sheriff, challenged the court officials.
Sheriff faulted the officials for failing to produce what he described as proper Nigerian court documents authorising the seizure of the property. He argued that after registration of the English judgment in Nigeria, Bashar should have been served with a motion on notice and given 14 days to respond or seek to set aside the judgment. Sheriff also claimed that Bashar paid N1bn the previous week and that the parties were negotiating a settlement.
The enforcement action represents Petrichor Energy’s effort to recover sums awarded in the underlying proceedings. Separate enforcement proceedings were also active before the DIFC Courts under case reference CFI 118/2025. 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.
Key points
- The Nigerian court seized assets linked to Alhaji Abdulrahman Musa Bashar over a $40m debt owed to Petrichor Energy FZCO.
- The dispute began with petroleum product transactions between Petrichor and Ultimate Oil & Gas between 2022 and 2023.
- Bashar was sentenced to one year in prison by a Dubai criminal court on January 30, 2026, over financial misconduct involving dishonoured cheques.
