Chappal Energies boss challenges Court’s jurisdiction to hear alleged theft charge against him
By Onyewuchi Ojinnaka
A Lagos State Special Offences Court, sitting in Ikeja Division, will Thursday deliver its ruling on whether it can hear an application challenging the court’s jurisdiction to hear the alleged theft and dishonest conversion charge filed against the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Chappal Energies, Mr. Ufoma Joseph Immanuel.
Justice Rahman Oshodi fixed the date on Wednesday, after counsel for the police, Mohammed Usman, and defence counsel, Tade Oshodi (SAN), argued and disagreed on whether Immanuel’s challenge to the court’s jurisdiction should be considered.
Immanuel’s counsel had submitted that the court should first determine whether it has jurisdiction to entertain the charge, insisting that jurisdiction is a threshold issue that ought to be resolved before any further proceedings.
In a notice of preliminary objection, the Chappal Energies founder, Ufuoma Immanuel, through his defence counsel, described the intended prosecution as an abuse of the criminal process.
According to the defence counsel, hostile interests within Chappal Energies had instigated and initiated the criminal charge as part of grand efforts to gain advantage in an ongoing dispute over the control and management of the company and its assets.
He urged the court to dismiss the charge on the ground that it failed to disclose facts capable of constituting the offences of conspiracy or stealing.
In the application filed on September 22, 2026, Immanuel prayed the court to decline jurisdiction or alternatively adjourn his arraignment pending the determination of a related suit before the National Industrial Court, marked NICN/LA/107/2026, Ufoma Joseph Immanuel v. Chappal Energies Mauritius Limited.
In a 56-paragraph affidavit attached to the application, and written address in support, Immanuel averred that the criminal proceedings arose from a wider commercial dispute bordering on the ownership, management and control of Chappal Energies Mauritius Limited.
He asserted that neither the initial petition nor the Police’s proof of evidence disclosed facts sufficient to establish the alleged offences of conspiracy or theft.
It was further averred that the conspiracy count was defective because it failed to identify the alleged co-conspirators or disclose any agreement or meeting of minds between them.
Furthermore, the defence pointed out that the original petition did not accuse Immanuel of stealing the vehicle, contending that this further undermined the factual basis of the charge.
The defence further argued that the prosecution of Immanuel was an attempt to deploy the criminal justice system to exert pressure on him in the ongoing corporate dispute.
It urged the court to apply established Supreme Court principles on abuse of process and dismiss the charge.
Counsel for the police, Usman submitted that the court could not entertain the application until Immanuel had been arraigned and entered his plea,
The Police Special Fraud Unit (SFU), in the Charge No: 28/400C/26, alleged that Immanuel conspired with others (at large), to steal a Lexus Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) LA 600F, valued at N600 million belonging to Chappal Energies Offshore Limited.
