Parallex Bank Limited has requested a Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court to dismiss the N7.15 billion lawsuit filed against it by FHT Mega Express Limited.
The bank argues that a preliminary ex parte order that led to the freezing of its funds should be set aside due to allegations of abuse of court process and the suppression of material facts.
FHT Mega Express claims to have deposited N7.15 billion with Parallex Bank as collateral for letters of credit valued at around $7.31 million. The firm alleges that the bank failed to issue the letters of credit as agreed and caused delays in foreign exchange purchases during a volatile market, ultimately leading to the auction of its imported goods by the Nigeria Customs Service.
Hauwa Gummi, judge of the FCT high court, sitting in Asokoro, Abuja, had on December 18, 2025, directed the CBN and NDIC to withhold the funds in an interest-yielding account pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice.
Court filings show that the dispute stems from a banking relationship between FHT Mega Express and Parallex Bank over funds deposited for the issuance of letters of credit (LC).
FHT Mega Express told the court that it deposited N7.15 billion with Parallex Bank as cash collateral for letters of credit valued at about $7.31 million to finance import transactions.
According to the logistics firm, Parallex Bank issued an indicative offer of banking facilities in June 2023, assuring that the LC would be issued promptly once the cash collateral was provided, while foreign exchange sourcing would commence immediatel
However, FHT Mega Express alleged that the bank failed to issue the LC as agreed and delayed the purchase of foreign exchange during a period of volatility in the FX market.
According to the logistics firm, Parallex Bank issued an indicative offer of banking facilities in June 2023, assuring that the LC would be issued promptly once the cash collateral was provided, while foreign exchange sourcing would commence immediately.
However, FHT Mega Express alleged that the bank failed to issue the LC as agreed and delayed the purchase of foreign exchange during a period of volatility in the FX market
The claimant further alleged that when the goods arrived in Nigeria, the bank demanded additional funds to cover an FX differential and refused to release the bill of lading, and that the imported goods were eventually auctioned by the Nigeria Customs Service due to abandonment.
FHT Mega Express said repeated demands for either execution of the transaction or a refund of its funds were unsuccessful, leading it to seek an interim court order to preserve the money pending resolution of the dispute.
PRIOR SUITS
Parallex Bank, however, told the Abuja court that the dispute predates the FCT action and is already the subject of litigation before another court.
According to the bank, it had, on September 4, 2025, filed a suit at the federal high court in Lagos, marked FHC/L/CS/1774/2025, seeking to recover an alleged N4.5 billion indebtedness owed by FHT Mega Express.
The bank said the debt arose from several letters of credit issued to finance import transactions running into several million euros.
On October 14, 2025, Lewis Allagoa, judge of the federal high court in Lagos, ordered all parties to maintain the status quo pending the determination of the substantive suit.
Parallex Bank further alleged that instead of submitting to the jurisdiction of the Lagos federal high court, FHT Mega Express filed a similar action at the Lagos state high court, seeking ex parte orders to freeze the bank’s funds.
The bank claimed the Lagos state high court declined to grant the ex parte reliefs and directed that the bank be put on notice, after which FHT Mega Express discontinued the suit.
ABUJA SUIT
According to Parallex Bank, the logistics firm subsequently filed the present action in Abuja, raising substantially the same issues and seeking similar interim reliefs.
The bank alleged that FHT Mega Express failed to disclose to the FCT high court the existence of the federal high court suit, the subsisting status quo order issued in Lagos, and its failed attempt to secure ex parte orders at the Lagos state high court.
Parallex Bank argued that the alleged non-disclosure amounted to suppression of material facts and misled the court into granting interim reliefs that should not have been made
In urging the court to dismiss the suit, Parallex Bank argued that the Abuja action amounts to an attempt to re-litigate issues already pending before the federal high court.
The bank said the subject matter of the dispute—letters of credit and obligations arising from them—falls within the exclusive jurisdiction of the federal high co
It also alleged that the multiple suits were filed to harass and frustrate its efforts to recover the alleged debt.
In an affidavit sworn to by Cynthia Akunaeziri, a manager at Parallex Bank, the financial institution detailed the letters of credit facilities involved and said the federal high court action seeks both recovery of the alleged debt and enforcement of its banker’s lien over goods financed through the LC.
The bank also said the Lagos state high court, after striking out the suit filed there, ordered FHT Mega Express to undertake corrective publications over alleged damaging information circulated against it.
The judge adjourned the matter to February 4 for the hearing of Parallex Bank’s preliminary objection.
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