By Nnamdi Ojiego
Fresh allegations of collusion have emerged in the ongoing legal battle between twin sisters, Ameena Indimi-Dalhatu and Zara Indimi, and Oriental Energy Resources Limited (“Oriental”), as the sisters move to enforce a court judgment awarded in their favour.
Court documents reviewed indicate that some commercial banks may have aided attempts to conceal funds belonging to Oriental, potentially frustrating enforcement of the judgment.
It will be recalled that on 2 January 2026, Justice N.E. Maha of the Federal High Court, Abuja, delivered judgment in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/853/2022 between Ameena Indimi-Dalhatu and Zara Indimi (plaintiffs) and Oriental Energy Resources Limited (defendant).
The case stemmed from a protracted shareholders’ dispute in which the sisters, daughters of Oriental’s majority owner, businessman Alhaji Mohammed Indimi, claimed unpaid dividends declared by the company in 2015. Although Oriental’s audited financial statements reportedly indicated that the dividends had been paid, the plaintiffs maintained they never received their entitlements.
The court ruled in favour of the sisters, ordering Oriental to pay a total of $43,510,000 in unpaid dividends, along with interest at 10 per cent per annum from the date of judgment until full settlement.
Following the judgment, the sisters initiated garnishee proceedings to recover the awarded sum. The proceedings, filed under Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/96/2026, listed the banks (namea withheld) as garnishees.
Garnishee proceedings are a legal mechanism used to enforce monetary judgments by attaching funds or debts owed to a judgment debtor that are held by third parties, such as banks.
On 13 February 2026, Justice P.O. Lifu issued a garnishee order directing the banks to identify and freeze all accounts belonging to Oriental across all branches nationwide, including current, savings, fixed deposit, and domiciliary accounts.
The objective was to secure sufficient funds to satisfy the judgment debt.
Court filings show that the listed banks submitted affidavits disclosing accounts linked to Oriental.
However, one of them (name withheld) did not disclose any account in the affidavit filed in response to the garnishee order, but alleged that Oriental had obtained a facility of about N900 million, which it had yet to liquidate, and was therefore indebted to the bank under the outstanding credit facility.
At a court hearing held on 13 March 2026, counsel to the plaintiffs, Mr. Mene-Josiah, alleged that certain banks either provided inaccurate disclosures or permitted continued withdrawals from Oriental’s accounts in violation of the court order.
Counter-affidavits filed by the plaintiffs further alleged that one of the banks allowed withdrawals from multiple accounts after being served with the garnishee order; while another failed to disclose two accounts allegedly holding substantial funds belonging to Oriental. Also, one of the banks sought to rely on a garnishee order nisi made by the High Court of Akwa Ibom State as a basis for not releasing the funds disclosed in the accounts belonging to Oriental. However, an independent search conducted in the case filed in Akwa Ibom State revealed that the order sought to be relied on by the bank was set aside on 9 July 2025. Notwithstanding that the bank was deemed to be aware of this fact, it is said to have deliberately failed to disclose it to the court.
These actions, the plaintiffs contend, suggest possible collusion to conceal funds and undermine enforcement of the court’s directive.
As of the time of filing this report, the banks had not publicly responded to the allegations.
After hearing the allegations, the court adjourned the matter to 16 April 2026 to allow the banks to respond to potential contempt proceedings made against them by the sisters.
Meanwhile, Oriental has reportedly filed an appeal against the judgment and applied to set aside the garnishee order.
Legal experts consulted on the matter noted that banks served with a garnishee order are obligated to fully disclose any funds held on behalf of a judgment debtor and must not permit withdrawals unless the order is suspended or set aside by a competent court. Failure to comply, they warned, could expose the institutions to contempt proceedings, with potentially serious legal consequences.
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