By Muhammad Mamman
A high court in Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory has ordered the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) to freeze 7.15 billion naira ($7.7m) linked to Parallex Bank Limited, escalating a legal dispute over letters of credit.
The order was issued by Justice Hauwa Gummi of the FCT High Court sitting in Asokoro, Abuja, following an ex parte application filed by FHT Mega Express Limited.
Court documents show that the suit, marked CV/4737/2025, names Parallex Bank Limited as the first respondent, with the CBN and NDIC listed as the second and third respondents respectively.
Justice Gummi directed the two financial regulators to place an immediate restriction on the funds pending the determination of the substantive suit before the court.
The case centres on a dispute involving letters of credit, a key instrument in international trade, though detailed claims by the applicant were not disclosed in the court order.
Neither Parallex Bank nor the regulatory authorities had publicly responded to the ruling at the time of reporting.
The decision underscores the growing role of Nigerian courts in adjudicating high-value commercial disputes involving banks and financial regulators, amid increased scrutiny of the country’s banking sector.
