The Federal High Court in Lagos has granted an application for substituted service of contempt proceedings against the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede. Justice Dehinde Dipolu issued the directive, permitting the service of Form 48—the official Notice of Consequences of Disobedience to Order of Court—to be delivered to the EFCC boss through the commission’s legal department in Abuja.
This legal development follows persistent frustration expressed by Ufoma Immanuel, the Managing Director of Chappal Energies, regarding the commission’s refusal to comply with standing judicial orders. Counsel to the applicant, C.U. Wogu of Tunji Braithwaite Law Partners, informed the court that previous efforts to serve Mr. Olukoyede personally had been repeatedly obstructed.
The dispute stems from a public declaration made by the EFCC on November 19, 2025, which named Mr. Immanuel as a wanted person in connection with allegations of forgery and obtaining money under false pretences. This move by the anti-graft agency occurred despite a direct ruling on September 11, 2025, by Justice Josephine Obanor of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. In that earlier matter, the court had restrained the EFCC from arresting or prosecuting Mr. Immanuel, emphasizing that the underlying conflict regarding shareholding agreements and contractual obligations was essentially civil in nature.
In response to the EFCC’s defiance, Justice Dipolu ruled on February 10, 2026, that the commission’s public declaration violated the applicant’s constitutional rights to liberty and freedom of movement. Consequently, the court ordered the commission to retract the wanted notice and pay Mr. Immanuel N5 million in damages. However, the EFCC has continued to pursue criminal litigation against the businessman, leading to an arraignment before Justice Mojisola Dada of the Lagos State High Court on March 11, 2026.
Legal tensions further escalated in October 2026 when Justice Obanor issued a fresh restrictive injunction. The court reaffirmed that its September 2025 order remained in full effect, noting that it had neither been vacated nor lawfully challenged, and explicitly prohibited the commission from continuing its criminal proceedings against the Chappal Energies executive. Following this latest judicial intervention by Justice Dipolu, the process of holding the EFCC leadership to account for its continued non-compliance is expected to proceed via the commission’s legal department.
Source: NaijaProbe