Lenders Respond to Nestoil's Legal Situation

Nestoil's lenders have noticed false reports about the Supreme Court's judgment on June 1, 2026. They feel it is important to clarify the facts.

The Supreme Court's decision is not a real win for Nestoil and Neconde. It relates to temporary orders given by the Court of Appeal. These orders froze the accounts of Ernest Azudualu-Obiejesi and Nnenna Obiejesi.

The Court of Appeal's order, which the Supreme Court set aside, also protected the Receiver/Manager in their work. Just to be clear, the Supreme Court's decision did not remove the Receiver/Manager.

The Supreme Court also did not say that Nestoil does not owe a huge debt to the lenders. The Court only ordered that both sides return to the lower Court to discuss Nestoil's large debt. This debt is currently at US$1,084,157,611.20 and NGN469,426,076,115.87.

Before this court case, Nestoil took several loans from eight lenders starting in 2010 but failed to repay them all. Nestoil then suggested restructuring the loans to help manage the debt better. The lenders agreed to this in good faith, but Nestoil has again failed to meet its repayment obligations since the restructuring began in 2023.

Despite many letters sent to Nestoil asking for payment, the company ignored its obligations. The current amount owed is now US$240,512,240.98 and NGN141,205,803,653.61.

At the same time, evidence shows that Nestoil was taking money meant for loan repayment and sending it to other companies owned by its principals. Because of this, the lenders decided to declare the entire loan due immediately.

When the lenders went to court to stop Nestoil from diverting funds, they got temporary orders from the Federal High Court. However, the Federal High Court later ruled that the temporary order had expired despite objections. Nestoil then changed its corporate structure to avoid actions against it. The lenders went to the Court of Appeal to restore the temporary orders, and the Appeal Court agreed to hear the case.

Nestoil challenged the restoration of these orders in the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court's ruling on June 1, 2026, simply stated that the temporary orders had expired. It also said that both sides should deal with the debt issues in the lower Court.

For Nestoil and Neconde to misunderstand the Supreme Court's decision as letting them off the hook for their debt shows their unwillingness to pay. This attitude is what led the lenders to start legal action in the first place.

We assure the public, depositors, and investors that the lenders will do everything possible to recover what Nestoil owes. The days of borrowers thinking they can ignore their debts are over.

The recovery process has just begun. Every amount owed will be collected and returned to the lenders who are dedicated to growing the economy.