FHT Mega Express Limited, a Lagos-based machinery and logistics company, has instituted a N7.15 billion suit against Parallex Bank Limited at the Lagos State High Court, Tafawa Balewa Square, over the alleged failure of the bank to release shipping documents for imported equipment despite receiving full payment to establish letters of credit since 2023.
In an ex parte application marked ID/AOR/6143/2025 and filed on October 17, 2025, the firm—through its counsel, Adedayo Oshodi (SAN)—is seeking an order freezing N7.15 billion in Parallex Bank’s accounts nationwide in interest-yielding instruments pending the hearing of the substantive case.
According to a 41-paragraph affidavit deposed to by its General Manager, Ezekiel Olumi, the company maintained that it had no prior banking relationship with Parallex and never took any loan from the bank. The arrangement, it said, was strictly for opening letters of credit (LCs) to pay European suppliers of heavy machinery.
Parallex Bank had issued an Indicative Offer of Banking Facilities on June 7, 2023, mandating FHT Mega Express to deposit full naira equivalents of the required euro payments. The firm 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 Form M numbers:
MF20230085253 (€4,750,609.00)
MF20230122580 (€839,648.99)
MF20230125197 (€502,485.00)
MF20230132545 (€1,720,000.00)
Thirty containers of machinery tied to these LCs arrived in Nigeria between February 2024 and February 2025. However, FHT claims that the bank released shipping documents—including bills of lading—for only one consignment valued at €502,485.00 (N434.4 million), while withholding documents for the remaining 29 containers without justification.
The firm stated that after demanding the documents on December 10 and 12, 2024, Parallex Bank instead requested an additional N3.76 billion to cover exchange rate differentials. FHT rejected the demand, insisting the bank failed to promptly purchase the required forex despite holding its funds for months without paying interest—leading to massive exposure due to naira depreciation.
The withholding of the bills of lading, FHT added, caused the consignments to overstay at the ports, prompting the Nigeria Customs Service to obtain a Federal High Court order condemning and auctioning the uncleared overtime goods.
When the case came up on Thursday, Justice Abdul-Raheem Muyideen ordered that the motion be served on Parallex Bank and 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 to a commercial bank in 2021—has not issued any public response to the allegations.
The case highlights deepening tensions surrounding letters of credit in Nigeria’s volatile forex environment, with the naira sliding from around N460/€ in mid-2023 to over N1,600/€ by late 2025.
FHT Mega Express says it has fulfilled all obligations and is seeking justice to recover its funds and losses incurred from the auctioned consignments.
