Abuse of court process: Parallex Bank urges court to dismiss FHT Mega Express’ N7.15bn suit

Parallex Bank Limited, A new generation financial institution in Nigeria, has urged the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, to dismiss a N7.15 billion suit instituted against it by a logistics firm, FHT Mega Express Limited, describing the action as a gross abuse of court process, incompetently constituted, and a classic case of forum shopping.

The suit, filed by FHT Mega Express on November 20, 2025, is currently being challenged by the bank through a Notice of Preliminary Objection and a Motion on Notice seeking, among other reliefs, the discharge of an interim ex-parte order earlier granted by the court.

Background to the Dispute

Court documents reveal that the dispute between both parties predates the Abuja action. On September 4, 2025, Parallex Bank had instituted an earlier suit at the Federal High Court, Lagos Judicial Division, Suit No: FHC/L/CS/1774/2025, seeking to recover an alleged outstanding indebtedness of N4.5 billion owed to the bank by FHT Mega Express.

The debt, according to the bank, arose from several Letters of Credit (LCs) opened in favour of the logistics firm to finance import transactions running into millions of euros. On October 14, 2025, the Federal High Court, Lagos, presided over by Justice Lewis Allagoa, granted an order directing all parties to maintain the status quo pending the determination of the substantive suit.

Allegations of abuse and forum shopping

Parallex Bank contends that rather than submit to the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court and allow the issue of indebtedness to be determined, FHT Mega Express embarked on what it describes as a deliberate campaign of litigation harassment aimed at frustrating debt recovery. According to processes filed before the Abuja High Court, FHT Mega Express initially filed a similar action at the High Court of Lagos State, Suit No: LD/ADR/6143/2025, seeking, among other reliefs, ex-parte orders to freeze the bank’s funds.

However, the Lagos State High Court reportedly refused to grant the ex-parte application, directing instead that the bank be put on notice. Parallex Bank subsequently filed a preliminary objection challenging the suit on grounds of abuse of process, given the pendency of the earlier Federal High Court action. Court records indicate that following the refusal to obtain ex-parte orders and upon becoming aware of the bank’s objection, FHT Mega Express discontinued the Lagos suit.

Shift to Abuja and alleged concealment

Parallex Bank further alleges that barely two days after withdrawing the Lagos suit, FHT Mega Express filed the present action at the FCT High Court, Abuja, raising substantially the same issues and accompanied by a similar ex-parte application to freeze the bank’s funds. The bank maintains that in doing so, the logistics firm failed to disclose to the Abuja court the existence of:

The earlier Federal High Court suit in Lagos,

The subsisting status quo order made by Justice Allagoa, and

The failed attempt to obtain ex-parte orders in Lagos State.

According to the bank, this alleged suppression of material facts misled the Abuja court into granting interim reliefs that ought not to have been made.

Grounds for objection

In urging the court to dismiss the suit, Parallex Bank listed several grounds, including that:

• The suit constitutes an impermissible attempt to re-litigate issues already pending before the Federal High Court. • The claimant engaged in forum shopping after failing to secure favourable ex-parte orders in Lagos.

• The subject matter of the suit—Letters of Credit and obligations arising therefrom—is already before the Federal High Court.

• The action is calculated to vex, harass, irritate, and scandalise the bank through multiplicity of proceedings.

• The claimant’s conduct demonstrates mala fides and an attempt to manipulate judicial processes.

Affidavit evidence

In an affidavit sworn to by Cynthia Akunaeziri, a manager at Parallex Bank, the bank detailed the nature of the Letters of Credit involved, including facilities amounting to several million euros, and reiterated that the Federal High Court action seeks not only recovery of debt but also enforcement of the bank’s banker’s lien over goods financed through the LCs.

The affidavit further stated that the Lagos State High Court, upon striking out Suit No: LD/ADR/6143/2025, directed FHT Mega Express to undertake corrective publications to neutralise alleged damaging public information earlier disseminated against the bank.

Court adjourns matter

Parallex Bank insists that the Abuja suit was filed solely to obtain ex-parte orders previously refused and to derail the determination of the substantive dispute already before the Federal High Court. The FCT High Court has since adjourned the matter to February 4, 2026 for hearing of the bank’s preliminary objection seeking to dismiss the suit in its entirety. As the legal battle unfolds, observers say the case raises important questions about judicial comity, abuse of process, and the increasing use of ex-parte applications in high-value commercial disputes within Nigeria’s legal system.

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