The Supreme Court has overturned the order made by Court of Appeal that froze the assets and operations of oil firms Nestoil Limited and Neconde Energy Limited over an alleged $1.1 billion debt dispute involving FBNQuest Merchant Bank Limited and First Trustees Limited.
In a judgment delivered on Monday, a five-member panel of the apex court held that the Court of Appeal exceeded its jurisdiction by granting an ex parte application that effectively restored control of the companies’ assets to a receiver-manager appointed by the lenders.
Delivering the lead judgment, Justice Stephen Adah faulted the appellate court for assuming jurisdiction over a matter that was still pending before the Federal High Court in Lagos and for issuing injunctive orders against the companies when the case was not properly before it.
The Supreme Court further accused the Court of Appeal of misusing the judicial process by granting a stay of proceedings in a matter already being adjudicated at the lower court.
The dispute stems from debt recovery proceedings initiated by FBNQuest Merchant Bank and First Trustees against Nestoil and Neconde Energy over financing arrangements linked to oil assets and operations.
The lenders had claimed that the companies were indebted to them to the tune of more than $1 billion, leading to a series of legal actions and receivership proceedings.
In October 2025, the Federal High Court in Lagos granted an ex parte Mareva injunction freezing the assets, bank accounts and shares of the companies across more than 20 financial institutions.
However, Nestoil and Neconde challenged the order, arguing that under the Federal High Court Civil Procedure Rules, the injunction automatically lapsed after 14 days once a motion seeking its discharge was filed.
On November 20, 2025, Justice Daniel Osiagor of the Federal High Court agreed with the companies, ruling that the ex parte order had expired by operation of law and was no longer in force.
Despite that ruling, the Court of Appeal, through a decision delivered by Justice Yargata Nimpar on November 29, 2025, granted what it described as a “restorative injunction” following an ex parte application by the lenders.
The appellate court’s order reinstated the receiver-manager’s control over Nestoil’s assets and operations and nullified all actions taken by the companies after the Federal High Court declared the Mareva injunction spent.
That decision has now been quashed by the Supreme Court.
The apex court’s ruling effectively restores full control of the companies’ assets and operations to Nestoil and Neconde Energy while allowing the substantive dispute over the alleged indebtedness to continue before the Federal High Court.