FBN Quest Merchant Bank on Monday repossessed the Lagos headquarters of oil and gas firm Nestoil after the Court of Appeal issued a new order restoring an earlier asset-freezing directive tied to an alleged multi-billion-dollar loan default.
Armed police guarded the entrance of the multi-storey building at 41/42 Akin Adesola Street in Victoria Island as the receiver-manager sealed the property. The move followed a restorative injunction issued on Friday by Justice Yargata B. Nimpar, overturning a lower court ruling that had lifted the freeze on the company’s assets.
Court papers show that the Appeal Court also cancelled “all steps taken” after the Federal High Court ruling that set aside the freeze. The order will stay in place until the court hears the pending motion filed on 26 November.
FBN Quest Merchant Bank and First Trustees Limited accuse Nestoil, its affiliate Neconde Energy, and their promoters, Ernest and Nnenna Obiejesi, of owing over $1.01 billion and ₦430 billion as of 30 September 2025. The companies deny wrongdoing and say they are seeking legal redress.
The Appeal Court also stopped the respondents, their agents, and affiliates from disrupting the work of the receiver-manager, Abubakar Sulu-Gambari, until the motion is heard. The court fixed 4 December for the hearing.
Last week, Justice J. Osiagor of the Federal High Court lifted a Mareva injunction that had frozen Nestoil’s and Neconde’s accounts across more than 20 institutions, including major banks, fintechs and corporate registries. The freeze had been in place since 22 October, when Justice Deinde Dipeolu first granted the orders.
Those earlier orders also empowered security agencies — the Nigeria Police Force, the Nigerian Navy and the State Security Service — to help enforce the receivership. They further allowed the receiver-manager to take control of Neconde’s interest in OML 42, a joint-venture oil block operated with NNPC Limited.
In their appeal, FBN Quest and First Trustees asked the court to suspend the effect of Osiagor’s ruling. They argued that allowing actions based on the lower court’s judgment “would make the Appeal Court’s final decision useless.”
A spokesperson close to the lenders said the action was necessary to “protect assets under threat and secure repayment.” A source linked to Nestoil, who asked not to be named because of legal sensitivities, said the firm would “fight to reclaim its property and correct what it sees as an unfair process.”
The case is now paused at the Federal High Court, pending the Appeal Court’s final decision.
Read also: Federal High Court Blocks Police, IGP From Harassing Owners of Nestoil Lagos Property
