A Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, has ordered substituted service of contempt proceedings on the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Ola Olukoyede through the commission’s Legal Department in Abuja.
Justice Dehinde Dipolu granted the application by the Founder and Managing Director of Chappal Energies, Ufoma Immanuel, authorising substituted service of Form 48, a notice warning of the consequences of disobeying a court order.
The order followed unsuccessful attempts by Immanuel to personally serve the notice on the EFCC chairman over the commission’s alleged continued disobedience of an existing court order.
Immanuel’s counsel, C.U. Wogu of Tunji Braithwaite Law Partners, told the court that efforts to serve Olukoyede had been frustrated.
A copy of the order was made available to the News Agency of Nigeria in Lagos on Tuesday. The dispute originated from a petition submitted to the EFCC by Immanuel’s business partner, Adebisi Adebutu of R28 Ltd., over disagreements concerning the control of Chappal Energies and shareholder rights.
Following the petition, the EFCC declared Immanuel wanted in a public notice published on its social media platforms on November 19, 2025, over allegations of obtaining money by false pretences and forgery.
However, the publication came despite an existing order issued on September 11, 2025, by Justice Josephine Obanor of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
Obanor had restrained the EFCC and other respondents from taking steps to arrest, detain or prosecute Immanuel over issues arising from shareholding arrangements, cross-shareholding agreements, subscription rights and contractual obligations between him and Adebutu.
The judge also held that the dispute was civil in nature. Despite the order, the EFCC initiated criminal proceedings against Immanuel before another court of coordinate jurisdiction.
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Immanuel subsequently challenged the commission’s publication at the Federal High Court in Lagos.
On February 10, 2026, Justice Dipolu ruled that the EFCC’s publication declaring Immanuel wanted violated his constitutional rights to personal liberty and freedom of movement.
The judge further held that the commission lacked the authority to restrict Immanuel’s fundamental rights in connection with the matter, particularly in the presence of an existing court order.
Dipolu directed the EFCC to withdraw all publications declaring Immanuel wanted and replace them with a public notice retracting the declaration.
The court also awarded Immanuel N5 million in compensation for the violation of his rights to personal liberty, freedom of movement and dignity.
Meanwhile, on March 11, 2026, the EFCC arraigned Immanuel and his company, Intermediate Investment Holdings Ltd., before Justice Mojisola Dada of the Lagos State High Court, Ikeja Division.
They were charged with two counts bordering on forgery and obtaining $1.5 million by false pretences.
In October 2026, however, Justice Obanor issued a further restrictive injunction reaffirming her earlier order and restraining the commission from continuing with the criminal proceedings at the Lagos State High Court.
The judge maintained that the September 11, 2025 order remained binding on the EFCC and other respondents because it had neither been set aside nor lawfully discharged.
In the latest ruling, Justice Dipolu granted Immanuel’s request for substituted service of the contempt notice but declined to deem the service automatically sufficient.
NANÂ
