Mauritius Supreme Court stops planned takeover of Chappal Energies as IIHL heads to Court of Arbitration London
By Onyewuchi Ojinnaka
The Supreme Court of Mauritius has halted and prohibited directors of Chappal Energies Mauritius Ltd from proceedings with the oil firm’s planned Rights Issue, pending the determination of the application for urgent relief by the Emergency Arbitrator in the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA).
The court made the order following an application filed by Intermediate Investment Holdings Limited (IIHL) through its counsel, Ms Attorney J Radhakissoon.
The restraining order scuttled alleged moves by a minority shareholder of the company, R28 Limited, a firm founded by a businessman, Adebisi Adebutu to acquire up to 85 percent of the company.
Ruling on the application by IIHL, the Judge, Carol Green Jokhoo held that the interim order in the nature of injunction was issued after “taken cognizance of the motion paper and affidavit, both dated 16th of June 2026, and being satisfied that the matter is so urgent as to require the immediate intervention of a Designated Judge before notice of the application is served on the
respondents and co-respondent.”
“Let the above-mentioned documents be filed at the Registry of this Court and let an interim order in the nature of an injunction be issued restraining and prohibiting the respondents, in their capacity as directors of the co-respondent No. 2, Chappal Energies Mauritius Ltd, from proceedings with the Rights Issue, pending the determination of the application for urgent relief either by the Emergency Arbitrator in LCIA Arbitration No. 267070 or, if declined by the Emergency Arbitrator, before the CIA Arbitral Tribunal constituted and seized pursuant to the Shareholders’ Agreement”, the order partly read.
Cited as respondents in the suit are directors of Chappal Energies Mauritius – Victor Ohioze Imevbore, Oyinlola Hezekiah Adesola Akande, Dada Solomon Thomas, Mike Cook, Vanesh Thakurdas, and Arunagirinatha Runghien. The co-respondents in the suit are the Financial Services Commission, Chappal Energies Mauritius Ltd and Trustoore (Mauritius) Limited.
The IIHL, which holds 34.5 percent issued share capital of Chappal Energies Mauritius, had approached the Supreme Court of Mauritius for the interim order, following the move by the shareholders of Chappal Energies Mauritius to embark on equity raise through a rights issue without its consent and input or that of its sole Director, Ufoma Immanuel, who is also the founder and CEO of Chappal Energies.
The development is contrary to the Shareholders Agreement, which has an arbitration clause.
Documents filed at the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA), made available to journalists, revealed that a dispute arose out of the Amended and Restated Shareholder Agreement amongst IIHL, Palisade Energies Limited, Frontier Energy Outcomes Limited, African Infrastructure Partners, LLC, Kofmon Capital Investment Limited, and Chappal Energies Mauritius Limited originally dated 21 July 2023 as amended and restated by an amendment and restatement agreement dated 24 April 2025.
It was gathered that at a special shareholders meeting held on June 20, 2026, the Chappal Energies shareholders had resolved to authorise a US$100 million equity raise through a rights issue. The IIHL, which holds 34.5 percent issued share capital of Chappal Energies, was said to have been recused from the meeting where the approval was given for the right issue.
Following the absence of the founder and CEO of Chappal Energies Ufuoma Immanuel from day-to-day management, owing to the criminal proceedings initiated in Nigeria by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the shareholders of Chappal Energies reportedly initiated a capital raise intended to strengthen its financial position and support ongoing operations.
R28 Limited, an investment vehicle associated with businessman Adebisi Adebutu had petitioned the EFCC following a disagreement that pertains to ownership and control of shares within entities connected to Chappal Energies.
In a shocking development on the dispute, the EFCC on March 11, 2026, arraigned Mr. Immanuel, alongside his company, IIHL, before Justice Mojisola Dada of the Special Offences Court, Ikeja, Lagos, on a two-count criminal charge despite that the dispute was purely civil in nature and in a flagrant disregard of a subsisting court order restraining his arrest by the EFCC.
On September 11, 2025, the Abuja High Court, presided over by Justice Josephine Obanor issued an order restraining the EFCC from taking further action, noting that the issues before it appeared predominantly civil in nature.
Separately, the Federal High Court, Lagos, in February 2026, held that the declaration of Mr. Immanuel ‘wanted’ by the EFCC was contrary to the clear provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, (ACJA).
Delivering ruling in the suit filed by Immanuel to challenge the “wanted” notice issued in November 2025 by the EFCC, Justice Dehinde Dipeolu held that the declaration of Mr. Immanuel ‘wanted’ by the EFCC was in flagrant disobedience of the subsisting order of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, High Court.
The court declared that the commission lacked the statutory power to restrain the applicant’s fundamental rights through its publication of November 19, 2025, in the face of a subsisting court order, and that the publication declaring Immanuel wanted amounted to an infringement of his constitutional rights to personal liberty and freedom of movement.
Consequently, the judge ordered the Commission to retract and withdraw all publications declaring Immanuel wanted and to replace them with a public notice retracting the declaration.
The court also ordered the EFCC to pay N5 million to Immanuel as compensation for the infringement of his rights to personal liberty, freedom of movement and dignity.
Despite the subsisting court orders, the EFCC proceeded to obtain a bench warrant from a court in Abuja. Working alongside the Department of State Services (DSS), Immanuel was arrested and detained by the authorities.
He was formally arraigned on March 11, 2026 alongside his company, IIHL, before Justice Mojisola Dada of the Special Offences Court, Ikeja, Lagos, on a two-count criminal charge.
At a shareholders meeting convened in Immanuel’s absence to raise funds to shore up the capital base of the company, (Chappal Energies), it was gathered that the R28 Limited submitted a proposal that would have provided funding in exchange for a controlling interest approaching 85 percent of the company. The proposal also reportedly included reimbursement claims relating to business development expenditures and other conditions that some shareholders considered unfavourable.
However, the trustee obtained interim relief suspending implementation of the rights issue pending further proceedings, with the parties directed toward arbitration. The decision represents a significant development in the broader corporate control battle and temporarily halts efforts that could have substantially altered Chappal’s ownership structure.
On 1 July 2026 the Supreme Court of Mauritius directed that parties proceed with the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) to determine their rights.
The LCIA has appointed Zoe O’Sullivan KC as the Sole Arbitrator in the Arbitration.
Chappal Energies has been embroiled in complex legal and corporate disputes involving its founder and chief executive officer, Immanuel, minority shareholder R28 Limited, and several regulatory and judicial proceedings spanning Nigeria, Mauritius, and the United Kingdom.
With interests in major offshore oil and gas assets, Chappal Energies occupies a strategically important position within Nigeria’s energy sector. The resolution of the ongoing disputes may therefore influence not only the future ownership and governance of the company but also broader perceptions of legal certainty and investment protection in Nigeria’s energy industry.
