FHT Mega Express Limited, a Lagos-based equipment, machinery, and logistics company, has dragged Parallex Bank Limited before the Lagos State High Court, Tafawa Balewa Square, over the lender’s alleged refusal to release shipping documents for imported goods valued at €7,310,257.99—despite receiving a full naira deposit of N7,154,677,000 to establish letters of credit (LCs) since 2023.
The firm is seeking an order freezing N7.15 billion in Parallex Bank’s accounts nationwide in interest-yielding instruments pending the determination of the substantive suit.
Through its counsel, Adedayo Oshodi (SAN), the company filed a motion ex parte, marked ID/AOR/6143/2025, on October 17, 2025.
According to a 41-paragraph affidavit sworn to by its General Manager, Ezekiel Olumi, FHT stated it had no prior banking relationship with Parallex, was never a credit customer, and did not obtain any loan from the institution. The arrangement, which began in June 2023, was strictly non-borrowing and was solely for the purpose of opening LCs to pay European suppliers.
Parallex Bank had issued an Indicative Offer of Banking Facilities on June 7, 2023, requiring FHT to deposit the full naira equivalent of the euro transaction amounts.
FHT subsequently opened a current account on July 27, 2023, and between July 2023 and February 2024 deposited N7,154,677,000 to fund four LCs tied to the following Form M numbers:
MF20230085253: €4,750,609.00
MF20230122580: €839,648.99
MF20230125197: €502,485.00
MF20230132545: €1,720,000.00
The consignments—30 containers of heavy machinery—arrived Nigeria between February 2024 and February 2025.
However, the bank allegedly released shipping documents, including bills of lading, for only one consignment valued at €502,485 (N434,408,834.68). Documents for the remaining 29 containers were withheld.
When FHT demanded their release on December 10 and 12, 2024, the bank reportedly requested an additional N3,759,024,395.45 to cover exchange rate differentials.
The absence of the required bills of lading led to the Nigeria Customs Service seizing and eventually auctioning the uncleared goods.
At the court hearing on Thursday, Oshodi (SAN) urged Justice Abdul-Raheem Muyideen to grant the freezing order to preserve the funds, stressing that the entire N7.15 billion had already been paid for the goods.
Justice Muyideen, however, declined to grant the ex parte request and instead ordered that the motion be served on Parallex Bank. He adjourned the matter to Monday, November 18, 2025, for hearing of the motion on notice.
As of November 14, 2025, Parallex Bank—which transitioned from a microfinance institution to a commercial bank in 2021—has not publicly responded to the allegations.
The case highlights rising tensions around letters of credit amid Nigeria’s prolonged foreign exchange volatility, with the naira depreciating from about N460/€ in mid-2023 to over N1,600/€ by late 2025.
FHT Mega Express insists it fulfilled all financial obligations and is seeking redress to recover its funds and mitigate losses arising from the auctioned consignments.