The Court of Appeal sitting in Lagos has disqualified Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN, and Dr. Muiz Banire, SAN from representing Nestoil Limited and Neconde Energy Limited in the companies’ ongoing $2 billion debt dispute with a consortium of lenders.
The ruling was delivered on Friday, January 23, 2026, by a panel of justices of the Court of Appeal and was confirmed by sources within the Nestoil legal team. In a significant procedural move, the appellate court also struck out all legal processes filed by the law firms of the two senior advocates on behalf of the affected companies.
The decision represents a major shift in the long-running receivership battle between Nestoil and its creditors, many of which are Nigerian banks.
In its ruling, the Court of Appeal clarified the legal implications of receivership on corporate governance and legal representation. The court held that once a company enters receivership, the powers of its board of directors are suspended, including the authority to appoint or retain legal counsel in matters connected to the receivership.
On this basis, the court granted the application to disqualify Dr. Muiz Banire, SAN, and Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN, from appearing for Nestoil Limited and Neconde Energy Limited, respectively. All filings and applications previously submitted by their law firms in the matter were consequently struck out.
The court also noted that Nestoil’s alleged indebtedness of about $2 billion is substantial, reportedly exceeding the minimum capital requirement of at least four Nigerian banks with international licences, underscoring the scale and systemic importance of the dispute.
The legal conflict between Nestoil and its lenders has unfolded across multiple courts over several months. In November, Nestoil initiated proceedings at the Federal High Court in Abuja against eight Nigerian banks and the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), seeking to restrain them from enforcing receivership proceedings following a Notice of Default.
At that hearing, legal teams representing both sides—including Access Bank, FBNQuest Merchant Bank Limited, and Afreximbank—appeared before Justice Mohammed Umar. While the lenders maintained that the receivership was lawfully triggered due to Nestoil’s failure to meet its debt obligations, the company challenged the process and sought injunctive relief.
Earlier developments escalated tensions when armed officers of the Nigeria Police Force sealed Nestoil’s headquarters in Victoria Island, Lagos, following a Federal High Court order freezing the company’s assets, bank accounts, and shares. That order was linked to an alleged $1.01 billion and N430 billion debt owed to FBNQuest Merchant Bank Limited and First Trustees Limited, both subsidiaries of First Bank of Nigeria Limited.
Just a day before the latest ruling, the Court of Appeal had adjourned another receivership-related case involving FBNQuest Merchant Bank, First Trustees Limited, Nestoil Limited, Neconde Energy Limited, and other parties. Presiding Justice Yargata Nimpara held that the court could not proceed until the issue of who could validly represent the respondent companies was resolved.
The disqualification of Olanipekun and Banire directly addresses that procedural uncertainty, effectively clearing the way for the appellate court to proceed with substantive hearings in the receivership dispute.
The ruling is expected to have far-reaching implications for the conduct of receivership cases in Nigeria, particularly on the limits of board authority and legal representation once control of a company has shifted to court-appointed receivers.
Emmanuel Bassey is a Financial Expert that has worked in the Banking and Finance Industry for over 15+ years across different banks in Nigeria
