The Supreme Court has set aside an order of the Court of Appeal freezing the assets of Neconde Energy Limited, Nestoil Limited and two others, over an alleged $1.1 billion indebtedness to FBNQuest Merchant Bank Limited and First Trustees Limited.
A five-member panel of the apex court, in a judgement, on Monday, held that the three-member panel of the appellate court went beyond their powers in granting an ex parte application against the appellants.
Justice Stephen Jonah Adah in the lead judgment, berated the appellate court for assuming jurisdiction and issuing an injunction against Neconde and Nestoil, when the matter was not properly before the court.
Besides, the Supreme Court accused the appellate court of misuse of the judicial process, particularly when the Court of Appeal issued a stay of proceedings at the Federal High Court, Lagos.
The dispute stems from debt recovery proceedings instituted by lenders, including FBNQuest Merchant Bank Limited and First Trustees Limited, against Nestoil and Neconde Energy over financing arrangements tied to oil assets and operations.
In October 2025, the Federal High Court in Lagos granted an ex parte Mareva injunction freezing the companies’ assets, bank accounts, and shares across more than 20 financial institutions.
However, the companies challenged the order, arguing that it automatically lapsed after 14 days under the Federal High Court Civil Procedure Rules once a motion to discharge it was filed.
in November 2025, Justice Daniel Osiagor held that the ex parte order had expired by operation of law and was no longer subsisting.
But, Justice Yargata Nimpar of the Court of Appeal on November 29, granted an interim restorative injunction returning the control of Nestoil’s assets and operations to the receiver manager appointed by the banks.
He ruled that all steps Nestoil took after the November 20 ruling were set aside. The Mareva injunction continued to operate.
However, this decision of the appellate court has been set aside, paving the way for the matter to continue at the trial court, as well as Neconde and Nestoil oil fully in charge of their company.
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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