The Receiver has taken back control of Nestoil Limited’s headquarters in Victoria Island, Lagos, after Court of Appeal granted a restorative order that reversed earlier actions stopping the takeover.
Gatekeepers News reports that Nestoil had originally been placed under receivership by a group of lenders following a Federal High Court ruling linked to a debt reportedly amounting to $2 billion.
The company, along with its affiliate Neconde Energy Limited, later obtained another High Court order directing the receiver to pause all enforcement steps.
But in a motion ex parte filed on November 26, 2025, FBN Merchant Bank Ltd and First Trustees Ltd asked the Court of Appeal to issue several interim directives.
They include include “An order of interim restorative injunction reversing all steps taken by the Respondents and/or persons purporting to act on the instructions of the Respondents and which steps or actions were taken pursuant to the order of the Federal High Court coram Osiagor, J made on the 20th day of November 2025 pending the hearing and determination of the Appellants’ Motion on Notice filed on the 26th day of November 2025.”
“An order of interim injunction restraining the Respondents, their agents, servants, affiliates, and privies from interfering with and interrupting the Receiver/Manager in the performance of his duties pending the hearing and determination of the Appellants’ Motion on Notice filed on 26th November 2025.”
“An order staying further proceedings at the lower court pending the hearing and determination of the Appellants’ Motion on Notice filed on the 26th November 2025.”
Justice Yargata Nimpar of the Court of Appeal in Lagos granted the requests, leading to police enforcement at Nestoil’s headquarters on Monday. The ruling, dated November 28, 2025, also scheduled the hearing of the motion on notice for December 4, 2025.
Before this development, a Federal High Court in Lagos had on October 22, 2025, issued a Mareva order permitting First Trustees and FBNQuest Merchant Bank to take possession of Nestoil’s assets.
Justice D. I. Dipeolu, who issued the order, restricted access to funds amounting to $1,012,608,386.91 and N430,014,064,380.77, representing the company’s indebtedness as of September 30, 2025.
Additional debts personally guaranteed by Ernest Azudialu-Obiejesi included more than N366.8 billion, $61.2 million, $152 million, and N10.4 billion owed to Access Bank, First Bank, and Zenith Bank.
Nestoil and its promoters later approached another Federal High Court seeking to overturn the Mareva directive before the latest action by the appellate court.
