The Lagos State High Court has struck out a suit filed by FHT Mega Express Limited against Parallex Bank, bringing to an end an action the court found unsustainable in light of existing proceedings at the Federal High Court. The court also ordered the claimant to publish the outcome of the case in three national newspapers.

The ruling, delivered on 18 November 2025 by Justice A. T. Muyideen of the Ikeja Judicial Division, terminated Suit No. LD/ADR/6143/2025, in which FHT Mega Express Limited alleged that Parallex Bank was indebted to it. A Certified True Copy of the judgment obtained on Thursday showed that the court declined jurisdiction after considering the circumstances surrounding the filing of the suit.

FHT Mega Express had approached the Lagos High Court seeking ex parte orders to attach funds belonging to Parallex Bank. The court, however, refused the application and directed that the bank be formally served with the processes. Upon being served, Parallex Bank entered appearance through its senior counsel, Dr Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, and filed several processes, including a preliminary objection dated 17 November 2025, challenging the competence of the suit.

In the objection, Parallex Bank argued that the action constituted an abuse of court process, pointing the court to an earlier suit it had filed at the Federal High Court. According to the certified judgment record, the bank had on 4 September 2025 instituted Suit No. FHC/L/CS/1774/2025 against FHT Mega Express Limited, seeking to recover over ₦4.5 billion allegedly owed by the company.

The Federal High Court was said to have ordered the parties in that matter to maintain the status quo pending further proceedings. Justice Muyideen noted that FHT Mega Express failed to disclose the existence of the Federal High Court case when it commenced the action at the Lagos State High Court.

The court record showed that Parallex Bank argued that the claimant attempted to obtain ex parte orders to freeze the bank’s funds despite being aware of the subsisting proceedings and orders of the Federal High Court. This, the bank contended, amounted to forum shopping and an abuse of judicial process.

Faced with the preliminary objection and the issues raised by the bank, FHT Mega Express applied on 18 November 2025 to discontinue the suit. Justice Muyideen subsequently struck out the case and ordered the claimant to publish the court’s decision in three national newspapers, underscoring the seriousness with which the court viewed the conduct of the proceedings.

The ruling effectively leaves the dispute between both parties to be resolved within the framework of the earlier Federal High Court action, where the substantive claims over the alleged ₦4.5 billion debt are already before the court.