The Supreme Court has overturned a Court of Appeal order that froze the assets of Nestoil Limited, Neconde Energy Limited, and two other firms over an alleged $1.1 billion debt owed to FBNQuest Merchant Bank Limited and First Trustees Limited.
In a unanimous judgment delivered on Monday, a five-member panel of the apex court held that the Court of Appeal exceeded its powers by granting an ex parte application against the affected companies.
Delivering the lead judgment, Justice Stephen Jonah Adah faulted the appellate court for assuming jurisdiction and issuing injunctive orders against Neconde and Nestoil when the matter was not properly before it.
The Supreme Court also criticized the Court of Appeal for what it described as a misuse of judicial process, particularly for granting a stay of proceedings in an ongoing case before the Federal High Court in Lagos.
The dispute arose from debt recovery proceedings initiated by a consortium of lenders, including FBNQuest Merchant Bank Limited and First Trustees Limited, against Nestoil and Neconde Energy over financing arrangements linked 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 held across more than 20 financial institutions.
However, the companies challenged the order, arguing that it had automatically expired after 14 days in line with the Federal High Court Civil Procedure Rules once they filed a motion seeking its discharge.
On November 20, 2025, Justice Daniel Osiagor ruled that the ex parte order had lapsed by operation of law and was no longer in force.
Despite that ruling, Justice Yargata Nimpar of the Court of Appeal, on November 29, granted an interim restorative injunction that returned control of Nestoil’s assets and operations to a receiver-manager appointed by the banks.
The appellate court further nullified all actions taken by Nestoil after the November 20 ruling and held that the Mareva injunction remained effective.
However, the Supreme Court has now set aside that decision, effectively restoring full control of the companies to Nestoil and Neconde while allowing the substantive dispute to proceed before the trial
