Oil Magnate, Rahamaniyya Faces Asset Seizure Over $40m Fuel Debt

By Fahad Faruk Galadanchi

Court bailiffs have begun enforcing Nigerian court orders against properties linked to businessman Abdulrahman Musa Bashar, chairman of Rahamaniyya Group of Companies, over an outstanding fuel-related debt of about $40 million owed to Dubai-based supplier Petrichor Energy FZCO.

The enforcement took place in Lagos and Abuja on Wednesday, September 23, following orders obtained by Petrichor after Nigerian courts recognised a judgment issued by the High Court of Justice of England and Wales.

In Abuja, enforcement officers pasted the court order on the gate of a property on Panama Crescent, Maitama, before sealing the premises.

However, the exercise at Bashar’s residence on Logone Close, Maitama, reportedly met resistance. More than a dozen vehicles were driven out of the compound, alongside a truck suspected of removing property. Men at the residence also broke the chain securing the gate and allegedly threatened lawyers, journalists and police officers who were present.

In Lagos, the enforcement team encountered resistance at a property in Parkview Estate, Ikoyi, where a security guard initially prevented the bailiff and lawyers from entering. Although they eventually gained access, they were unable to obtain the keys to the apartment. Two of the seven vehicles accompanying the enforcement team were also towed from the estate.

The Nigerian enforcement followed a February 25, 2026 decision of the Federal High Court in Lagos granting Petrichor permission to register an English court judgment for enforcement in Nigeria. On May 15, the court issued writs of attachment and sale against assets linked to Bashar and, separately, against Bashar and Ultimate Oil & Gas FZCO.

The dispute stems from the supply of gasoil and Jet A1 aviation fuel by Petrichor, formerly known as CE Energy DMCC, to Ultimate Oil & Gas under several spot contracts and a subsequent term agreement signed in April 2023.

According to the court proceedings, Ultimate initially paid for some cargoes but accumulated unpaid interest and demurrage. Two additional cargoes supplied under the term contract were also left unpaid, prompting Petrichor to commence arbitration proceedings at the Dubai International Arbitration Centre in November 2023.

In January 2024, the parties restructured the outstanding obligations. Ultimate issued nine undated cheques signed by Bashar, while Bashar personally guaranteed the company’s liabilities in return for continued fuel supplies.

The cheques were subsequently dishonoured. Seven presented by Petrichor on April 4, 2024, were returned two days later because of irregular signatures. A criminal complaint was subsequently filed, resulting in Bashar being convicted in absentia and sentenced to one year in prison. The conviction was later revoked following a joint request by the parties.

In February 2025, English courts entered summary judgments ordering Ultimate Oil & Gas to pay 22.8 million UAE dirhams, while Bashar was ordered to pay 122.1 million dirhams under his personal guarantee, in addition to interest and legal costs.

A further payment agreement reached in April 2025 provided for instalments, but the court later found that Ultimate repeatedly defaulted despite extensions and partial payments.

Court records put the outstanding liability at approximately $32.7 million against Bashar and $7.5 million against Ultimate Oil & Gas.
The English court also issued a worldwide freezing order on March 30, covering assets in Nigeria, the UAE, Britain and France.

The order followed evidence presented to the court that Bashar had allegedly threatened during a March 15 conversation to dispose of his assets if Petrichor rejected payment terms proposed by Ultimate.

The judge subsequently found that the circumstances provided evidence of a risk that Bashar could dissipate his assets. The court also considered previous contempt findings in separate proceedings and noted the sale of properties in the UAE and Britain worth millions of dollars.

Meanwhile, enforcement proceedings are also ongoing in Dubai before the DIFC Courts under reference CFI 118/2025.

The Nigerian writs empower the sheriff to recover the outstanding sums by attaching and selling goods and chattels belonging to the respondents, as well as seizing specified monetary and financial assets.