The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has facilitated the recovery of an additional $40 million from Nestoil Limited under a structured debt repayment arrangement involving the oil and gas company, its affiliate, Neconde Energy Limited, and a consortium of financial institutions, bringing the total amount recovered to $100 million.
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The latest payment, made on October 19, 2026, followed an earlier $60 million recovery announced on August 17, 2026, as part of efforts to resolve the longstanding debt dispute between Nestoil and its lenders.
The consortium of lenders confirmed the development, describing the additional payment as encouraging progress towards recovering outstanding financial obligations, although a substantial portion of the company’s alleged indebtedness remains unpaid.
The recovery followed a structured repayment arrangement reached during a meeting chaired by EFCC Chairman Olanipekun Olukoyede, who facilitated discussions between the parties to establish an orderly framework for settling the outstanding obligations.
Under the arrangement, Nestoil is expected to continue making payments in accordance with the terms agreed upon by the parties and applicable laws.
The lenders welcomed the latest $40 million payment, noting that it demonstrated progress in the recovery process despite the substantial outstanding balance.
They also reaffirmed their commitment to continued cooperation with the EFCC and other relevant stakeholders to ensure that the remaining obligations are settled.
According to the financial institutions, recovering funds owed by major corporate borrowers is important to protecting the interests of lenders, depositors and other stakeholders in Nigeria’s financial system.
“The recovery of funds owed to financial institutions ultimately serves to protect the interests of lenders, depositors and other legitimate stakeholders whose funds are deployed in the financial system,” the lenders stated.
The consortium maintained that the $100 million recovered so far represented progress but did not bring the debt dispute to an end.
It explained that further repayments would be required under the agreed settlement framework before the outstanding obligations could be fully discharged.
The dispute involves a consortium of eight financial institutions comprising Access Bank Plc, Zenith Bank Plc, Ecobank, African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), First Bank of Nigeria Limited, First City Monument Bank, United Bank for Africa Plc and Union Bank of Nigeria Plc.
In June 2026, the lenders claimed that Nestoil’s total indebtedness had risen to approximately $1.084 billion and ₦469.43 billion, despite several attempts to restructure the credit facilities.
According to the consortium, Nestoil obtained several bilateral credit facilities from the financial institutions beginning in 2010.
The facilities were subsequently consolidated under a restructuring arrangement known as the “Global Club,” which became effective in 2023.
The restructuring was intended to simplify the administration of the loans and provide a coordinated framework for repayment.
However, the lenders alleged that Nestoil continued to default on its repayment obligations after the restructuring.
They claimed that outstanding repayment obligations at one stage reached $240.51 million and ₦141.21 billion.
The disagreement escalated into litigation in October 2025 when the Federal High Court in Lagos granted a Mareva injunction freezing assets, bank accounts and shares linked to Nestoil, Neconde Energy Limited and their promoters across several Nigerian financial institutions.
Court filings at the time placed the alleged indebtedness at approximately $1.01 billion and ₦430 billion as of September 30, 2025.
The court also appointed Abubakar Sulu-Gambari, SAN, as receiver-manager and authorised him to take possession of identified assets connected to the dispute.
Enforcement of the court order subsequently led to police officers sealing Nestoil’s headquarters on Akin Adesola Street, Victoria Island, Lagos.
Nestoil, however, maintained that it remained operational and described the matter as a commercial dispute being addressed through the judicial process.
The legal battle subsequently proceeded through the Federal High Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court, with the parties contesting issues relating to debt recovery, receivership and interim orders affecting Nestoil and Neconde Energy Limited.
In June 2026, the Supreme Court set aside interim preservative orders previously granted by the Court of Appeal and directed the parties to return to the lower court for determination of the substantive issues in dispute.
Following the decision, the consortium of lenders maintained that the Supreme Court’s ruling did not extinguish Nestoil’s alleged indebtedness or invalidate the underlying debt recovery claims.
The lenders subsequently continued efforts to recover the outstanding obligations through the agreed repayment arrangement facilitated by the EFCC.
With the additional $40 million payment, the cumulative amount recovered under the arrangement has reached $100 million, comprising the initial $60 million and the latest $40 million.
However, the total amount remains substantially below the indebtedness claimed by the consortium, and the repayment process is ongoing.
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