FHT Mega Express Limited, a Lagos-based logistics, equipment, and machinery firm, has filed a lawsuit against Parallex Bank Limited at the Lagos State High Court, Tafawa Balewa Square, over the alleged withholding of shipping documents for imported goods worth €7,310,257.99.

The company claims it made full payments totaling N7.15 billion since 2023 to establish letters of credit (LCs) for European suppliers but received documents for only one of the 30 containers shipped. FHT is seeking a court order to freeze N7.15 billion in the bank’s accounts in interest-yielding instruments pending the outcome of the suit.

Through its counsel, Adedayo Oshodi (SAN), FHT filed an ex parte motion (ID/AOR/6143/2025) on October 17, 2025. In a 41-paragraph affidavit deposed by General Manager Ezekiel Olumi, the company stated it had no prior relationship with Parallex Bank, never took loans, and operated strictly on a non-borrowing arrangement for creating LCs.

The payments, made between July 2023 and February 2024, funded four LCs tied to Form M numbers totaling €7,310,257.99. While one consignment worth €502,485.00 was released, documents for the remaining 29 containers were withheld. FHT alleged that when it requested the documents in December 2024, the bank demanded an additional N3.76 billion to cover exchange rate differences.

As a result of the missing bills of lading, the Nigeria Customs Service seized and auctioned the uncleared goods.

When the matter came before Justice Abdul-Raheem Muyideen on Thursday, Oshodi urged the court to grant the freezing order to preserve the funds. The judge, however, declined the ex parte relief, directing that the motion be served on Parallex Bank and adjourning the matter to November 18, 2025, for hearing on notice.

Parallex Bank, which upgraded from microfinance to commercial banking in 2021, has not publicly responded to the allegations. The case highlights rising tensions over letters of credit amid Nigeria’s persistent foreign exchange volatility, with the naira falling from about N460/€ in mid-2023 to over N1,600/€ by late 2025.

FHT Mega Express insists it fulfilled all obligations and is pursuing legal action to recover its funds and address losses from the auctioned consignments.