In a significant development in the high-profile Petro Union matter, the Supreme Court of Nigeria, per Hon. Justice Mohammed Lawal Garba, JSC (presiding), Hon. Justice Adamu Jauro, JSC, Hon. Justice Jummai Sankey, JSC, Hon. Justice Obande Ogbuinya, JSC, and Hon. Justice Abubakar Umar, JSC, in a ruling on Friday, May 23, 2025, dismissed a motion by Union Bank of Nigeria (UBN) seeking to amend its Notice of Appeal.
UBN had approached the apex court requesting leave to introduce eight new grounds of appeal in its ongoing case against Petro Union Oil & Gas Ltd., Central Bank of Nigeria, the Minister of Finance, and the Attorney General of the Federation. This motion came after both parties had already filed and exchanged their appellate briefs.
Recall that the Supreme Court had earlier dismissed motions to adduce fresh evidence by the Appellant, and allowing the Motion to amend the Appellant’s Notice of Appeal would have circumvented the grounds on which the Court had refused the Appellant’s earlier Motion.
The case stems from a 1994 cheque issued by a foreign bank, with Petro Union Oil Nigeria Ltd asserting a claim to £2.5 billion. The Federal High Court in Abuja ruled in favor of Petro Union Oil & Gas Ltd, determining that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and other government agencies had wrongfully refused to process the funds. This decision was subsequently upheld by the Court of Appeal and is currently pending before the Supreme Court.
The subject Motion which was moved by Awomolo, SAN, and supported by Soyebo, SAN, and the Attorney General of the Federation – Fagbemi, SAN, on behalf of the CBN, the Minister of Finance and the Attorney General of the Federation, respectively, was objected to by Darlington Onyekwere leading a team of lawyers from J-K Gadzama LLP, on March 17, 2025.
The decision of the Supreme Court on this Motion for leave to amend the Appellant’s Notice of Appeal means the coast is now clear for the hearing of the much anticipated appeal against the Judgment of the Court of Appeal, which confirmed the Judgment of the Federal High Court and awarded Petro-Union Nigeria Ltd a whooping sum total of Two Billion, Five Hundred and Fifty-Six Pounds Sterling (and still counting) against the trio of Union Bank Nigeria, Central Bank of Nigeria and the Federal Government.
