A consortium of Nigerian banks has taken over Nestoil Limited, one of Nigeria’s leading oil and gas service companies, placing it under receivership over alleged indebtedness exceeding $1 billion.

The development, which marks one of the most significant corporate debt recoveries in recent years, prompted the Nigeria Police Force to seal off Nestoil’s corporate headquarters in Victoria Island, Lagos, on Monday.

A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos, presided over by Justice D. I. Dipeolu, had on October 22, 2025, granted a Mareva injunction in favour of First Trustees and its subsidiary, FBNQuest Merchant Bank, authorising the takeover of Nestoil’s assets and those of its affiliates.

The injunction was issued against Nestoil Limited, Neconde Energy Limited, and their principal promoters, Dr. Ernest Azudialu-Obiejesi and Mrs. Nnenna Obiejesi.

Court Order and Affected Parties

Justice Dipeolu’s order also listed several commercial banks and financial institutions as affected parties. They include:
Citibank Limited, Central Securities and Clearing Systems (CSCS) Plc, Fidelity Bank Plc, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, Globus Bank Limited, Keystone Bank Limited, Opay Limited, Polaris Bank Limited, Providus Bank Limited, and Stanbic IBTC Bank Limited.

Others are Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria, Sterling Bank Plc, Titan Trust Bank Limited, Unity Bank Plc, Wema Bank Plc, Gobowen Exploration and Production Limited, Hammakopp Consortium Limited, Krawcod Properties Limited, Santa Spring Oil and Gas Limited, Marine & Ocean Infinity Nigeria Limited, and White Dove Shipping Company Limited.

Assets Frozen Pending Substantive Hearing

The Mareva injunction directs all listed banks to freeze the accounts and assets of Nestoil and the other defendants pending the hearing of the substantive suit.

Justice Dipeolu specifically restrained any dealings involving the sums of $1,012,608,386.91 and ₦430,014,064,380.77, said to represent the total indebtedness of the defendants as of September 30, 2025.

In addition, the court noted that several debts were personally guaranteed by Nestoil’s founder and chairman, Ernest Azudialu-Obiejesi, amounting to over ₦366.8 billion, $61.2 million, $152 million, and ₦10.4 billion, owed to Access Bank, First Bank, and Zenith Bank respectively.

Next Steps

The court has fixed the hearing of the substantive case for next month, during which the parties will present their arguments on the disputed indebtedness and the legality of the receivership action.

Industry observers say the Nestoil case underscores growing lender assertiveness in Nigeria’s financial sector, as banks intensify efforts to recover mounting non-performing loans amid tighter regulatory scrutiny.