Nestoil Limited has issued a strong rebuttal against circulating reports claiming that the company and its affiliate, Neconde Energy Limited, have been placed under receivership. The oil and gas firm has labelled these claims as entirely false and a deliberate attempt to mislead the public and interfere with an active legal proceeding.
Legal Clarification and Court Proceedings
In an official statement, Abimbola Attitebi, the Head of Legal at Nestoil, provided crucial clarifications on the matter. He revealed that the plaintiffs, FirstBank Trustees and FBNQuest Merchant Bank, had their ex parte application for judicial recognition of a purported receiver-manager refused by the court.
Attitebi further stressed that all applications filed by the plaintiffs, who are acting on behalf of secondary lender banks led by FirstBank, are still pending before the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos. He emphasized that any publication suggesting Nestoil or Neconde is under receivership is not only false but also highly prejudicial and amounts to contempt of court.
No Legal Basis for Asset Takeover
The Nestoil legal head explained that an inchoate receiver-manager appointment, which lacks formal court recognition, holds no legal authority. Consequently, such an appointment cannot legally take control of the defendants' assets, which includes freezing company or directors' bank accounts.
Attitebi pointed out that Nigerian law expressly prohibits self-help, stating that the plaintiffs and their purported receiver-manager cannot blow hot and cold at the same time. Having submitted to the court's jurisdiction, the plaintiffs must await the final determination of their suit seeking judicial recognition of the alleged receivership and other related reliefs.
Police Withdrawn from Premises Following Court Order
In a related development, the Federal High Court in Lagos directed the Lagos State Police Command to immediately withdraw its officers from Nestoil's premises. This directive followed an order issued on November 20, 2025, by Justice Daniel Osiagor.
The judge's ruling vacated an earlier directive that had authorised law-enforcement presence at the facilities of Nestoil Limited, Neconde Energy Limited, and their directors, Ernest Azudialu-Obiejesi and Nnenna Obiejesi.
In a formal letter dated November 20, 2025, and referenced FHC/L/CS/2127/2025, the Deputy Chief Registrar of the Federal High Court, Longs Longwa, informed the Commissioner of Police in Lagos that the previous order had been set aside. The letter explicitly requested that all police officers stationed at the defendants' premises be withdrawn without delay.
