By Emmanuel Daniji

A legal battle over an unpaid fuel deal worth about $40 million has moved from the courtroom to properties and assets linked to businessman Abdulrahman Musa Bashar in Lagos and Abuja.

Bashar, Chairman of Rahamaniyya Group of Companies, is now facing enforcement proceedings after the Federal High Court in Lagos recognised an English judgment ordering payment of debts arising from the supply of gasoil and Jet-A1 aviation fuel to Ultimate Oil & Gas.

The case dates back to transactions carried out between 2022 and 2023, when Petrichor Energy FZCO, formerly known as CE Energy DMCC, supplied petroleum products to Ultimate Oil & Gas.

According to court documents, about $40 million was left outstanding from the transactions.

What was once a dispute over fuel supplies has since grown into a multi-country legal fight involving Nigeria, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates and France.

The latest development in Nigeria means the dispute is no longer only about what happened between the companies. Court enforcement officers have begun taking steps against assets connected to the respondents in an effort to recover the money.

The Federal High Court granted Petrichor Energy permission on February 25, 2026, to register the English judgment in Nigeria. On May 15, writs of attachment and sale were issued against assets belonging to Bashar and, under a separate writ, Bashar and Ultimate Oil & Gas FZCO.

The enforcement documents have now been served and posted at properties connected to the respondents in Lagos and Abuja.

At the heart of the dispute is a judgment delivered by the Commercial Court of the High Court of Justice of England and Wales on February 14, 2025. The judgment dealt with obligations arising from Bashar’s personal guarantee, as well as the outstanding principal, interest and legal costs.

The English court also refused to stay execution of the judgment, paving the way for the creditor to pursue enforcement.

The dispute became even more serious in March 2026 when the English High Court granted a worldwide freezing order against Bashar and Ultimate Oil & Gas.

The order covered assets within its scope in Nigeria, the UAE, the UK and France and restricted the defendants from disposing of or dealing with those assets.

Among the properties identified in the proceedings was a Nigerian property valued at approximately $21.3 million.

The court proceedings had raised concerns about the possible disposal of assets and defaults under a structured payment arrangement.

But Nigeria is not the only country where Petrichor is pursuing the matter.

The company is also before the Dubai International Financial Centre Courts in case CFI 118/2025, seeking recognition and enforcement of the English judgments.

The DIFC proceedings identify Ultimate Oil & Gas FZCO as a company incorporated in the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre, with Bashar described as its chairman and owner.

Bashar’s legal troubles have also extended into Dubai’s criminal courts. On January 30, 2026, he was sentenced to one year in prison over financial misconduct involving dishonoured cheques totalling AED126.45 million.

Back in Nigeria, the focus is now firmly on the assets that can be reached under the Federal High Court’s enforcement orders.

The writs direct the Sheriff to recover the sums due by attaching and selling goods and chattels belonging to the respondents, as well as seizing specified monetary and financial assets.

For Petrichor Energy, the latest action represents another stage in a long-running attempt to recover money it says is owed from the supply of gasoil and Jet-A1.

For Bashar and the companies involved, the case has become a much wider legal battle, with proceedings spread across different countries and assets worth millions of dollars now caught in the dispute.