A Federal High Court in Abuja ordered a 120-day freeze of more than 4,000 bank accounts linked to Sterling Oil Exploration and Energy Production Company Limited and related entities in June 2025, as part of an Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) investigation into alleged money laundering. Sources have alleged that ICPC Chairman Dr. Musa Adamu Aliyu later interfered to prevent the order from being enforced.
On June 24, 2025, Justice J.K. Omotosho of the Federal High Court, Abuja Judicial Division, granted the order in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/1041/2025, between the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Sterling Oil Exploration and Energy Production Company Limited. The ruling followed a motion ex parte filed on May 26, 2025, by counsel Dr. Osuobeni Ekoi-Akponimisingha, supported by an affidavit from Iliya Markus.
The application originally sought a 90-day freeze of accounts held in 16 banks: Access Bank, Ecobank, First City Monument Bank, Fidelity Bank, First Bank, Globus Bank, Guaranty Trust Bank, FSDH Bank, Keystone Bank, Rand Merchant Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, Stanbic IBTC, Sterling Bank, United Bank for Africa, Union Bank and Zenith Bank. The court extended the freeze to 120 days to allow investigation and adjourned the matter to October 22, 2025, for a report.
Court schedules attached to the order list more than 4,000 accounts belonging to Sterling Oil Exploration & Energy Production Co. Ltd and connected companies, including Sterling Global Oil Resources Ltd, Sterling Exploration Ltd, Sterling Global Exploration and Production Ltd, Sterling International Resources Ltd and SEEPCO Ltd. Other entities named include Alacrity Production Systems Ltd, Advance Oil Production Systems Ltd, United Oil Production Systems Ltd, Prime Source Construction & Infra Ltd, British Oil & Gas Exploration Ltd, Deep Frontline Shippers Ltd, Texas Equipment Nigeria Ltd, Geo Mud Nigeria Ltd, Geo Seismic Survey Ltd, Cement Bond Nigeria Ltd, Ace Loggers Nigeria Ltd and Yade Barge Operators Ltd.
Individual accounts belonging to Subhradip Dey, Mohit Deepak Barot, Bhaskar Vamanbhai Trivedi and Praveen Jain also appear in the schedules. A substantial portion of the documents lists accounts tied to Indorama Eleme Petrochemicals Limited and Eleme Petrochemical Co. Ltd.
Despite the court’s directive, the ICPC chairman moved to stop the accounts from being frozen. “The ICPC investigated the transactions and obtained a court order freezing the accounts involved. However, the Chairman subsequently interfered with the enforcement of the order and prevented the accounts from being frozen as directed by the court,” one source said.
The court documents confirm the existence of the freezing order and the scale of the probe into Sterling Oil and its linked companies over money-laundering allegations.
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