Nestoil, Neconde Break Silence on Reported $60m EFCC Recovery, Accuse Lender of Blackmail

Neconde Energy Limited and Nestoil Limited have denied reports alleging that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) recovered $60 million in an ongoing investigation involving the companies.

In a statement issued on Monday, the companies described the newspaper reports published across several national dailies as a “sponsored malicious and despicable false narrative” allegedly designed to undermine ongoing efforts to resolve their commercial disputes with lenders.

The companies were reacting to front-page reports published on August 17, 2026, including a publication headlined: “EFCC Recovers US$60 Million in Ongoing Nestoil Investigation.”

Neconde and Nestoil said the consistency of the reports across several newspapers, as well as the description of the publication as an “Advertorial” by ThisDay, suggested that the reports were sponsored.

According to the companies, the reports misrepresented an EFCC meeting held on July 8, 2026, which they said was convened by the EFCC chairman as part of efforts to facilitate an amicable resolution of their commercial disputes with lenders.

They said the meeting was “purely conciliatory” and did not constitute a criminal interrogation or summons.

The companies further stated that their senior management, legal representatives, financial advisers and senior counsel attended the meeting alongside representatives of the lenders.

They said the EFCC chairman described the relationship between the parties as “commercial and symbiotic” and urged all sides to avoid actions that could damage one another.

Neconde and Nestoil also disclosed that the parties subsequently agreed through their respective lawyers to document the understanding reached at the meeting in a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).

According to them, their legal representatives had been engaged in extensive discussions over the MOU and had reached significant alignment with the lenders’ counsel ahead of a planned final revision and subsequent meeting for execution.

The companies accused an unnamed lender of attempting to frustrate the settlement process through the August 17 publications.

They alleged that the lender had been distributing the publication to media organisations before it appeared in print and said they had protested against the planned publication.

Neconde and Nestoil also referred to recent Supreme Court decisions in cases involving Neconde and FBNQuest Merchant Bank, saying the judgments had set aside what they described as restrictive orders previously obtained by lenders.

They said the decisions paved the way for the reopening of Nestoil Towers in Victoria Island, Lagos, which they alleged had been sealed by the lenders.

The companies further maintained that a receiver purportedly appointed by the lenders could not exercise statutory powers while his appointment was being challenged, citing the Supreme Court decisions and an earlier Federal High Court order.

On the reported $60 million recovery, Neconde and Nestoil categorically denied any suggestion that the companies were involved in criminal conduct or that the reported figure represented a crime-related recovery.

They accused the sponsor of the publications of attempting to use the name of the EFCC and its officials to give credibility to what they described as a misleading narrative.

The companies said they had deliberately refrained from making details of their commercial disputes with lenders public, insisting that such matters were not for public consumption.

“Neconde/Nestoil remain committed to an amicable resolution of the commercial issues,” the companies said, while warning that the latest publications constituted a serious setback to the resolution process.

They urged other lenders involved in the dispute not to allow the actions of any individual lender to undermine the broader settlement efforts.

The companies said they reserved all their legal rights over the publications and reiterated their denial of the allegations of criminality and crime-related recovery.

The statement was signed by the managements of Neconde Energy Limited and Nestoil Limited.

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