The Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday adjourned ruling in the $79.5 billion tax case involving cryptocurrency giant Binance to April 21, 2026.
The ruling was postponed following the absence of Justice Mohammed Umar, who presided over the matter.
Although lawyers for both parties were present, the judge was engaged in another official duty.
The case, filed by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) now known as the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS), seeks to hold Binance, along with its representatives Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla, liable for $79.5 billion in alleged economic losses linked to the company’s operations in Nigeria.
Binance had filed a motion challenging the substituted service of court documents, which the FIRS served via email to the company’s General Counsel, Eleanor Hughes.
The firm argued that it was registered and domiciled in the Cayman Islands, and that the court’s rules require service of documents to be delivered to a principal officer or the company’s registered office.
The FIRS, however, disputed Binance’s claims, stating that the company has no registered address in the Cayman Islands and operates in Nigeria through a significant economic presence.
The agency also maintained that Hughes, who received the court documents electronically, is a principal officer and that the service was proper under the court’s rules.
Binance’s lawyers argued that the ex-parte order allowing substituted service was invalid, while the FIRS contended that the company had been properly notified and represented in court by its lawyers, Aluko & Oyebode.
The suit, originally before Justice Inyang Ekwo, was reassigned to Justice Umar. Justice Ekwo had earlier granted leave to NRS to serve documents on Binance via email due to the company’s lack of a physical presence in Nigeria.
The court will now deliver its ruling on the matter on April 21, 2026.
