Two senior executives at Aradel Holdings have offloaded more than 8.53 million shares valued at N10.9 billion, according to a filing with the Nigerian Exchange. The transactions rank among the year's largest insider deals on the local bourse.
Titilola Omisore, the company secretary and group general counsel, sold 5 million shares at N1,275 each on June 25. Temitayo Ogunbanjo, general manager of refinery operations, disposed of 3.53 million shares at N1,282.50 per share on the same day.
The regulatory filing disclosed the trades on July 2 but didn't explain the executives' reasons for selling. Both men qualify as insiders under Nigerian Exchange rules and must report all securities transactions to the market.
The sales occurred as Nigeria's equities market struggled through one of its worst months on record. The All-Share Index plunged 8.28 percent in June, erasing N13.29 trillion in investor wealth and slashing market capitalisation from N160.5 trillion to N147.2 trillion.
Aradel's stock hasn't escaped the downturn. Share prices have fallen roughly 27 percent since the company released its 2025 audited financial statements on June 19.
Despite this recent weakness, the oil and gas producer remains among Nigeria's strongest performers in the sector.
The company's financial results tell a different story. Aradel reported a profit after tax of N757.3 billion for 2025, nearly triple the N259.1 billion earned the previous year, driven by higher crude output and newly acquired assets.
The board has proposed a final dividend of N23 per share for 2025, worth N99.93 billion in total. Combined with the N10 interim dividend already distributed, shareholders will receive N143.4 billion for the year, pending approval at the annual meeting.
Growth has accelerated into the current year. First-quarter profit after tax jumped 252 percent to N120.3 billion compared with N34.2 billion twelve months earlier, while revenue surged 265 percent to N728.5 billion.
Omisore has anchored Aradel's corporate strategy for over two decades. She joined in 2001 from Strachan Partners and has guided the group through numerous acquisitions, joint ventures and capital raises while managing legal, governance and corporate finance functions.
The executive holds a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Illinois, an LLB from the University of Buckingham and a law degree from the Nigerian Law School. She earned a master's in tax law from King's College London and sits on the boards of several Aradel subsidiaries and affiliate ND Western.
Ogunbanjo arrived at Aradel in September 2021 after spending more than two decades working in Nigeria's downstream petroleum sector.
