Nestoil Limited has firmly denied reports alleging that Nestoil and Neconde are under receivership, describing the claim as entirely false.

The company says the publication is a deliberate attempt to mislead the public and interfere with an ongoing lawsuit filed by FirstBank Trustees and FBNQuest Merchant Bank against Nestoil and others.

In a statement, Head of Legal at Nestoil, Abimbola Attitebi, clarified that the plaintiffs’ ex parte application seeking judicial recognition of their “purported receiver-manager” was refused by the court.

He added that all applications seeking judicial confirmation of the alleged receivership, filed by the plaintiffs on behalf of secondary lender banks led by FirstBank, are still pending before the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos.

Attitebi stressed that any publication suggesting that Nestoil or Neconde is under receivership is not only false but also prejudicial and amounts to contempt of court.

According to him, an inchoate receiver-manager appointment without court recognition has no legal authority to take control of the defendants’ assets, including freezing company or directors’ accounts.

He further noted that the plaintiffs and their purported receiver-manager “cannot blow hot and cold at the same time,” emphasising that Nigerian law prohibits self-help.
“Having submitted themselves to the jurisdiction of the court, the plaintiffs must await the court’s final determination of their suit seeking judicial recognition of the alleged receivership and other related reliefs,” the statement added.

Recall that the Federal High Court in Lagos had, in November, directed the Lagos State Police Command to immediately withdraw its officers from Nextoil premises. This followed an order issued on November 20, 2025, by Justice Daniel Osiagor, vacating an earlier directive that had authorised law-enforcement presence at the facilities of Nestoil Limited, Neconde Energy Limited and their directors, Ernest Azudialu-Obiejesi and Nnenna Obiejesi.

In a formal letter addressed to the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Command, the Deputy Chief Registrar of the Federal High Court, Longs Longwa, conveyed the court’s latest decision and informed the police hierarchy that the previous order relied upon to deploy officers had been set aside.

The letter, dated November 20, 2025, referenced suit marked FHC/L/CS/2127/2025 and confirmed that Justice Osiagor’s ruling effectively nullified the earlier enforcement actions taken in connection with the plaintiffs’ claims.

It therefore requested that all officers stationed at the defendants’ premises be withdrawn without delay.