The High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (HCFCT), Abuja, has invalidated the criminal charge brought by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) against Ufoma Joseph Immanuel (UJI), founder/managing director of Chappal Energies Limited.
The court, presided over by Justice Josephine Obanor on October 16, 2026 held that in view of the subsisting September 11, 2025 order of the court, the EFCC lacked the power to arrest or commence the criminal proceedings against Immanuel and Intermediate and Investment Holdings Limited (IIHL).
As stated in the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the October 16 ruling which was signed on October 26, Justice Obanor noted that the September 11, 2025 “subsisting order of court remains binding on the EFCC and other defendants since it had not been set aside nor lawfully discharged”.
“The judge further noted that the EFCC did not appeal the earlier order, but chose to disregard it by proceeding to charge Immanuel and IIHL to another court of coordinate jurisdiction “as though the order did not exist”.
Justice Obanor also upheld the arguments of Applicants’ counsel that the EFCC, having disobeyed the subsisting order of Court, ought not to be permitted to derive any benefit from the Court’s processes in aid of the criminal prosecution, insisting that the courts have the duty to protect their integrity and enforce compliance with their orders.
By this latest court order, the judge has voided the criminal proceedings against the Applicants before the High Court of Lagos, Ikeja division.
Justice Obanor, had on September 11, 2025, granted an interlocutory injunction restraining the EFCC and the Nigeria Police Force, their agents and privies from taking any steps to arrest, detain, or prosecute Immanuel and IIHL in respect of any issues emanating from the shareholding arrangements, cross-shareholding agreements, subscription rights, and performance of contractual obligations involving Immanuel and IIHL on the one hand, and Adebisi Adebutu, Biswal Limited, and R28 Limited on the other hand.
The FCT Hight Court also reasoned that the dispute was civil in nature and restrained the EFCC and other defendants from harassing or prosecuting Immanuel.
In breach of the subsisting order of the court, the EFCC, on October 7, 2025, filed criminal charge against Immanuel and IIHL before the Lagos State High Court, Ikeja Division, alleging that Immanuel induced Adebisi Adebutu to invest $1.5million under the guise of financing projects linked to Chappal Petroleum Development Company Limited, IIHL and Chappal Energies Mauritius (CEM) Limited.
Court documents revealed that the criminal proceedings against Immanuel and IIHL, followed a petition to the Commission by Immanuel’s business partner, Adebisi Adebutu over alleged refusal by Immanuel to cede control of the shares due to IIHL in Chappal Energies Mauritius (CEM) to Adebutu and his company R28 Limited.
In flagrant violation of the court order, the EFCC, on March 11, 2026, arraigned Immanuel alongside his company, IIHL, before Justice Mojisola Dada of the the Lagos State High Court, Ikeja Division on a two-count charge of forgery and obtaining money to the tune of $1.5 million by false pretence, despite that the dispute was purely civil in nature.
Series of applications for his bail were turned down by Justice Dada in utter disregard of the subsisting order of a court of coordinate jurisdiction and in violation of his constitutional rights.
On July 1, 2026, Immanuel, again, through his counsel, Oluseun Awonuga, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and E.B. Aigbe, sought the intervention of the court as he filed a fresh injunctive reliefs before the FCT High Court, seeking an order of “anti-suit injunction restraining the EFCC from taking any further steps in continuing with prosecuting the criminal proceedings against him and IIHL, which was in breach of the September 11, 2025.
The Claimants/Applicants are Chappal Energies Mauritius Ltd (suing in behalf of its directors, shareholders, officers, staff and management, etc); Intermediate Investment Limited and Immanuel.
Cited as defendants are the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), EFCC, the Nigeria Police Force, R28 Limited, Biswal Limited and Adebisi Adebutu (1-6 defendants/Respondents.
The Applicants also sought an order restraining the EFCC from relying on, tendering in evidence, or otherwise making, use of any document already before the FCT High Court in the criminal proceedings which it commenced in breach of the orders of the FCT Court made on September 11, 2025, pending the hearing and determination of the suit.
Counsel for the Applicants, Awonuga contended that the EFCC, having disobeyed the subsisting order of Court, ought not to be permitted to derive any benefit from the Court’s processes in aid of the criminal prosecution.
He submitted that the courts have the duty
to protect their integrity and enforce compliance with their orders.
He urged the court to grant an anti-suit injunction restraining the EFCC from taking further steps in, or continuing with the criminal proceedings, which he contended constituted an abuse of court process.
The EFCC, in its response submitted that it acted within its statutory powers under Sections 6(b) and (C), 7(1)(a)-(c) and 13(2) of the EFCC Act in investigating and prosecuting economic and financial crimes.
The EFCC’s counsel further submitted that the Court ought not to interfere with the statutory
functions of law enforcement agencies in the investigation and prosecution of criminal
offences.
He argued that the powers conferred on the EFCC by its enabling Act could not be curtailed by injunctive or declaratory reliefs intended to shield a suspect from prosecution..
But the Claimants/Applicants counsel, further noted that the FCT Hight Court had determined in its ruling of 11th September 2025 that the dispute was civil in nature and restrained law enforcement agencies from harassing Immanuel.
In her ruling, Justice Obanor upheld the arguments of the Applicants’s counsel and granted all the reliefs sought by Immanuel.
The judge noted that the EFCC did not appeal the order, but chose to disregard it and proceeded to charge Immanuel and IIHL to another court of coordinate jurisdiction as though the order did not exist.
“I have examined the circumstances surrounding the application and the order made by this Court on 11th September 2025. It is my considered view that a party who is dissatisfied with a decision of a court of competent jurisdiction has a duty to challenge that decision through the appropriate legal process. The 2nd Defendant )EFCC), if aggrieved by the decision of this Court, ought to have pursued the lawful process of challenging it by way of an appeal to the Court of Appeal. No such appeal was filed.
“It was not open to the 2nd Defendant to disregard the order and proceed to charge the 2nd and 3rd Claimants to court as though the order did not exist. A subsisting order of court remains binding until it is set aside or otherwise lawfully discharged. See OKEKE V.
UWAECHINA (2022) LPELR-57291(SC).
Justice Obanor declared: “No party is entitled to determine unilaterally that an order of court should not be obeyed. To permit such conduct would undermine the authority of the Court and the administration of justice. This Court has a solemn duty to preserve its sanctity, protect the authority of its orders and ensure that its judicial processes are not rendered ineffective.
“A Court of law is meant to protect its order or decisions.” Accordingly, I find that the Applicants have established sufficient grounds to warrant the intervention of this Court to protect the integrity of its order of 11th September 2025. The reliefs sought by the 2nd and 3rd Claimants/Applicants are hereby granted. I so hold.”
Iheanyi Nwachukwu, is a creative content writer with over two decades journalism experience writing on banking, finance, capital markets, and tax. The multiple awards winning journalist is Deputy Editor, BusinessDay. Iheanyi holds BSc Degree in Economics from Imo State University; Master of Science (MSc) Degree in Management from University of Lagos. Iheanyi has attended several work-related trainings including (i) Advanced Writing and Reporting Skills (Pan African University, Lagos); (ii) News Agency Journalism (Indian Institute of Mass Communication {IIMC}, New Delhi, India); and (iii) Capital Markets Development and Regulations (International Law Institute {ILI} of Georgetown University, Washington DC, USA). Other trainings Iheanyi attended include: Economic/Political Risk Analysis (By Thomson Reuters Foundation); International Financial Journalism (IFJ) (By PMA Media Training, UK); Effective Business Writing Skills (By Phillips Consulting); Reporting on Corporate Governance (By International Finance Corporation (IFC) & Thomson Reuters Foundation UK); etc. In addition, he has participated in high-level economy & markets events in Dubai, South Africa, Morocco, and other African countries like Zambia, Ghana and Gambia.
