Neconde Energy has discontinued its case against the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), which bordered on the alleged approval granted to banks to disrupt and interfere with operations in the Nigerian onshore Oil Mining Lease (OML) 42 based on an alleged loan.
The notice of discontinuance, seen by Naijaonpoint, was announced before Justice Umar Mohammed by Neconde’s lawyer, M. Ogwuche, on Tuesday.
Neconde, White Dove Shipping Company Limited, and four other plaintiffs dragged the NUPRC, four commercial banks, African Import-Export Bank (Afreximbank), and three other companies before the court.
The key issue raised by Neconde is whether the NUPRC can, via its letter dated October 15, 2025, with Reference No. NUPRC/LD/CPL/2839/Vol. 2/2025/94, allows agents of any charge holder to take over or disrupt the operations of assets in the OML 42 Joint Venture, of which the Federal Government of Nigeria holds a 55% stake and is the operator
A first charge holder is a lender with the highest priority claim on a borrower’s asset following a loan agreement.
At the resumed proceedings, Ogwuche informed the court of the company’s notice of discontinuance against the NUPRC.
Responding, NUPRC counsel, Wale Balogun (SAN), confirmed being served with the plaintiffs’ notice of discontinuance (dated February 17, 2026) against the Commission.
The judge awarded a cost of N500,000 against Neconde.
Subsequently, counsel for the commercial banks, Victor Ogude (SAN), drew the court’s attention to his preliminary objection seeking to dismiss the suit.
However, the judge said Neconde and the other plaintiffs should be given time to respond to the preliminary objection.
The judge consequently adjourned the case to June 8, 2026, for hearing and for the plaintiffs to respond to the preliminary objection of the commercial banks.
The plaintiffs had sought a perpetual injunction restraining the NUPRC and the respective banks from taking possession of Neconde’s assets on the basis of any credit facilities “under the first charge or any other charge, insofar as the charge on the facilities has not crystallised.”
They contended that the NUPRC’s letter was issued in error, as the facility between Neconde and any of the banks in this suit has allegedly not crystallised and remains ongoing.
The plaintiffs further alleged that the banks had threatened to seize, take over, possess, and dispose of their properties based on Nestoil’s liabilities to them as lenders, necessitating the court’s intervention.
NUPRC’s lead counsel, Ahmed Raji (SAN), filed a response, maintaining that the Commission is a statutory corporation created by the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021 and charged with the responsibility of regulating the upstream sector of the petroleum industry in Nigeria.
The Commission urged the court to hold that, based on the PIA, the action commenced by the plaintiffs is premature due to the failure to issue and serve the mandatory one-month pre-action notice on the NUPRC.
The Commission urged the court to dismiss or strike out the case in the interest of justice.
Neconde Energy Limited was incorporated in November 2010 as a private oil and gas company and began full operations in late 2011 following the joint venture acquisition of OML 42 from Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC).
Neconde owns a 45% stake, while the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) owns 55%.
In January 2026, the Court of Appeal clarified that the scope of the receivership dispute against Neconde Energy Limited under the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) is strictly limited to the company’s interests in the OML 42 Joint Venture.
In April this year, the Supreme Court set aside a Court of Appeal decision that disqualified senior lawyers Wole Olanipekun and Muiz Banire from appearing for Nestoil Limited and Neconde Energy Limited in a $2 billion dispute over a contested receivership.
The loan dispute is still pending.
