Proceedings at the Federal High Court in Lagos were stalled on Friday after Nestoil Limited, Neconde Energy Limited, and their promoters accused a judge, D.I. Dipeolu, of bias and judicial misconduct.
The companies filed petitions on 3 November with the National Judicial Council (NJC) and the Federal High Court Chief Judge, requesting that ongoing suits, including suit FHC/L/CS/2127/2025, be reassigned to another judge pending review.
The suit, filed by FBNQuest Merchant Bank Limited and First Trustees Limited, seeks to appoint a receiver over Nestoil’s assets.
According to certified court documents shared with PREMIUM TIMES on Monday, the dispute arose from claims that Nestoil and Neconde owed over US$1 billion and N430 billion as of 30 September.
In October, this newspaper reported that armed police officers sealed the Lagos headquarters of Nestoil Limited following a Federal High Court order authorising First Trustees and its subsidiary, FBNQuest Merchant Bank, to take over the company’s assets due to an alleged multibillion-dollar debt default.
Court orders
Acting on an ex parte motion filed on 20 October, the court empowered a court-appointed Receiver, Abubakar Sulu-Gambari, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), to take control of the compa
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