An Abuja High Court sitting in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has declared as null and void the arbitration proceedings initiated against Aiteo Eastern Exploration and Production Company Limited at the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in London. The court ruled that the arbitration violated subsisting injunctive orders issued by the Nigerian court.
Justice S.B. Belgore of the FCT High Court delivered the judgment on Tuesday, July 8, 2025, following an application filed by Tempo Energy Nigeria Limited, one of the parties involved in the multi-billion dollar financing deal that supported Aiteo’s 2014 acquisition of Oil Mining Lease (OML) 29 and the Nembe Creek Trunk Line (NCTL) from Shell Petroleum Development Company.
The oil asset deal, which was valued at $3.01 billion, was one of the largest divestments in Nigeria’s petroleum industry. Aiteo’s founder and billionaire businessman, Benedict Peters, reportedly injected over $1 billion of personal funds into the deal, with smaller equity holders like Tempo Energy contributing $136 million. The remainder was financed through a consortium of Nigerian and international lenders, including Zenith Bank ($323 million), First Bank and Guaranty Trust Bank ($200 million each), Fidelity Bank ($175 million), African Finance Corporation (AFC) ($125 million), Ecobank Nigeria and Union Bank ($100 million each), Sterling Bank ($60 million), and Shell Western ($512 million).
Tempo Energy approached the FCT High Court in January 2021 after it was excluded from ICC arbitration proceedings and lawsuits initiated in the High Court of England and Wales by some of the lending institutions. The company secured an interim injunction on January 22, 2021, restraining the defendants from continuing with arbitration or legal proceedings in foreign jurisdictions. However, the lenders and other defendants proceeded with the ICC arbitration in London between 2021 and 2024, ignoring the Nigerian court’s order.
Justice Belgore, while delivering the ruling, faulted the lenders for going ahead with arbitration in breach of the court order. He ruled that the ICC arbitration proceedings held in defiance of the interim orders were invalid, and dismissed the preliminary objections raised by the defendants who argued that the Nigerian court lacked jurisdiction to stop foreign arbitration.
The judge held that the defendants’ actions constituted an abuse of court process, and further directed all parties to comply strictly with the injunctive orders. He also awarded a cost of N500,000 in favour of Tempo Energy Nigeria Limited and adjourned the matter to September 29, 2025, for hearing of the consolidated interlocutory applications.
Earlier in April 2025, the Court of Appeal in Abuja had affirmed the validity of the FCT High Court’s interim injunction, dismissed the defendants’ appeal as an abuse of court process, and awarded costs of N1.5 million against them. The appellate court also cautioned that any steps taken in defiance of court orders would be considered void.
The defendants in the suit include Aiteo Eastern E&P Company Ltd, African Finance Corporation, Ecobank Nigeria Ltd, First Bank of Nigeria, Guaranty Trust Bank, Fidelity Bank, Shell Western Supply & Trading, Shell International Trading & Shipping, Citibank Europe (UK Branch), Citibank N.A. (London Branch), FBN Trustees, Zenith Trustees, FBN Merchant Bank, Sterling Bank, Union Bank, Zenith Bank, and Dame Elizabeth Gloster.
Meanwhile, Aiteo is also involved in a separate legal battle against Shell. The indigenous oil firm filed a $2.5 billion lawsuit against Shell in 2021 at a Federal High Court in Abuja, accusing the oil major of concealing the true condition of the oil assets at the time of sale.
Aiteo said it has faced significant production setbacks due to frequent attacks on its oil facilities by crude oil thieves, which has made it difficult for the company to meet its financial obligations to the lenders.
The ongoing legal battles and financial disputes have raised concerns about transparency and risk exposure in Nigeria’s oil and gas investment climate, particularly around asset divestments involving major international oil companies and local operators.
