Drama as police deny workers access to Nestoil’s building

The lingering debt crisis surrounding Nestoil Limited took a dramatic turn on Tuesday as police officers denied workers of other companies access to their offices located within Nestoil’s building in Lagos. The affected workers had resumed duties following a court order delivered by Hon. Justice Ofili Ajumogobia of the Federal High Court, Abuja on November 24, which directed that they should be granted access to their offices. The order, issued in Suit No: FHC/ABJ/CS/2385/2025 between the property owner, Drawcok Estate Limited (the applicant), and the Nigeria Police Force alongside the Inspector-General of Police (the respondents), restrained the respondents from interfering with or violating the applicant’s rights to ownership and possession of the properties. “The respondents, whether by themselves, their agents, agencies, or anyone acting for or through them, are hereby restrained from interfering with or impeding the applicants’ right to own and possess the said properties,” the court held. In a related development, the workers also cited another judgment delivered by Hon. Justice Peter Lifu in Suit No: FHC/ABJ/CS/2534/2025, between Neconde Energy Limited(the applicant) and the Nigerian Navy, Abubakar Sulu Gambari (SAN) and First Trustees Limited (the defendants).

However, the situation became more complicated following an order of the Court of Appeal, Lagos Division, which reinstated a consortium of Nigerian lenders to take possession of the expansive Nestoil tower.

Nestoil, one of Nigeria’s leading energy and engineering companies, has been entangled in a debt crisis reportedly exceeding $2 billion, prompting legal battles over ownership and control of its assets.

As a result of the appellate court’s decision, the building was placed under lock and key, leaving workers of other tenant firms stranded outside.

At the premises, heavily armed police officers were deployed to enforce the court order, mounting barricades and restricting entry into the complex.

However, tension escalated when a police officer allegedly harassed a TVC cameraman and seized the mobile phone of our correspondents who attempted to take photographs of the scene. The incident sparked outrage among journalists and onlookers.

Addressing the workers, the Area Commander of Area 1 who was not in police uniform, ordered the workers to vacate the premises, warning of enforcement actions.

“I want everybody to leave this place because you are not the law. You must respect the Nigerian state and must not take the law into your own hands. I have warned you,” he said.

Legal counsel to the applicant, Chinwo Obiagwu (SAN), insisted that the property in question belonged to Drawcok Estate Limited and not Nestoil, arguing that tenants were entitled to access their offices.

“This property belongs to Drawcok Estate and not Nestoil. The tenants have every right to gain access to their offices; no one should stop them or the owners of the property,” he stated.

Sylvester Chukwu who works with SDI expressed concerns over the closure of the building gates, saying it has disrupted their business.

“We have not been able to access our office for almost two months. We don’t owe any bank. We need access to our office so that we can conduct our business. Every time we come here, there is no clear explanation except that our landlord has told us that we have every right to gain access to our office and do some work. It has been a struggle for us.

We have not been able to process customers’ projects and invoices and even salaries have been quite difficult,” he said.

Another worker who identified himself as Stanley described the situation as unfortunate, stressing that it discourages investors from doing business in the country.

“This is our corporate office in Lagos and we do business and for some reason we have been locked out, so we are wondering why most of us who have nothing to do with this are being locked out. It is very worrisome. We need to find a way to instill rule of law and justice in our country.

“This is the first week of December, we have not done proper business since the last week of October and this is the end of the year. We have financial obligations to our staff, vendors and all the stakeholders, we are not met some of them in the last two months.

“It is a really unfortunate situation and we need to resolve this because it sends a dangerous signal for the ease of doing business in Nigeria. Our salaries can’t be met,” he said.

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