The oil tycoon who bought Equinor's Nigerian business is in prison over a $1.5 million dispute

The family of Ufoma Joseph Immanuel, the oil executive whose company acquired Equinor's entire Nigerian business, has petitioned President Bola Tinubu alleging he has been handcuffed to a hospital bed while in detention.

Immanuel founded Chappal Energies and runs it as managing director and chief executive. The Mauritius-registered company announced the completion of a $1.2 billion acquisition of Equinor Nigeria Energy Company on Dec. 7, 2024, ending the Norwegian state-controlled group's 32 years in the country. It had earlier agreed to buy TotalEnergies' onshore Nigerian assets for $860 million.

He is now standing trial at the Lagos State Special Offences Court over $1.5 million.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission alleges that Immanuel and his company Intermediate Investment Holdings Limited induced Adebisi Adebutu of R28 Holdings Limited, between April 2022 and October 2023, to deposit $1.5 million described as capital and business development costs, with intent to defraud. He pleaded not guilty at his arraignment in March.

The commission declared him wanted on Nov. 19, 2025 over allegations of obtaining money by false pretences and forgery.

The Initiative for Media Development and Social Impact, a civil society organisation speaking for the family, said in its petition that representatives who visited Immanuel at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital found him handcuffed to his bed and unable to move, despite doctors advising that he walk periodically to prevent blood clots.

"This is inhuman and degrading treatment for a man who has not been convicted of any offence, and it now stands as a direct threat to his life and health, on top of everything else he has endured," said Onose Oseyi, the organisation's spokesperson, calling for the restraint to be removed and for a public explanation of who authorised it.

The group said its intervention was not intended to determine guilt or innocence, and that the state remains obliged to protect his life, dignity and health while the case is before the court.

The family raised further allegations it said warranted independent investigation. It said Immanuel approached the Department of State Services in February to report threats he alleged had been made against him by Adebutu, and was detained and later transferred into EFCC custody. It also said that during a settlement meeting, Adebutu told them Immanuel would die in Kirikiri prison if he did not surrender his shares.

The family stated explicitly that it was not presenting that account as fact. Adebutu has not responded publicly to it.

The British High Commission sent a consular official to check on Immanuel's welfare at the Kirikiri Correctional Centre, according to the petition. The family said he has repeatedly been denied bail and was once removed from the hospital in the middle of the night.

The family's position is that the matter is a commercial disagreement over shares rather than a fraud, and that the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory and the Federal High Court have both described it as a civil shareholding dispute. It said the $1.5 million was invested toward an asset acquisition that was completed and publicly announced.

What has happened to the company while its founder has been in custody gives the dispute its shape.

Intermediate Investment Holdings holds 34.5 percent of Chappal Energies Mauritius, and Immanuel is its sole director. R28, the investment vehicle chaired by Adebutu, is a minority shareholder that petitioned the EFCC over a disagreement concerning ownership and control of shares in entities connected to Chappal.

With Immanuel absent from day-to-day management, Chappal's shareholders moved to raise capital. R28 launched a $100 million rights issue, which it presented as emergency funding to strengthen the company's finances and prevent bankruptcy. A rights issue offers new shares to existing shareholders, and any holder who does not take up their allocation sees their percentage fall.

Immanuel went to the Supreme Court of Mauritius, which granted an interim order in July halting the raise, on the argument that it was proceeding without the consent of Intermediate Investment Holdings or its sole director. He then escalated to the London Court of International Arbitration, seeking to block the issue on the basis that it would dilute his 34.5 percent stake.

Both attempts failed. R28 is now moving toward dominant control of the company.

The Equinor transaction Chappal completed was substantial. Equinor and Chappal signed the agreement on Nov. 29, 2023, Nigerian regulators approved it in November 2024 after months of delay, and it closed through a special purpose vehicle named Project Odinmim. Rand Merchant Bank, part of South Africa's FirstRand, was sole financial adviser.

Equinor Nigeria Energy Company holds 53.85 percent of oil mining lease 128, which contains a 20.2 percent interest in the Agbami field operated by Chevron, alongside the operatorship of OML 129. The assets include the Nnwa discovery, part of the Nnwa-Doro gas field, which has remained undeveloped for more than two decades despite its size.

Whether Chappal still holds those interests is a separate question. The company was described as needing emergency capital to avoid bankruptcy within eighteen months of completing two acquisitions worth close to $2 billion between them, and control of Chappal itself is now being contested. The register maintained by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission would establish who holds the licences today.

Chappal is chaired by William Higgins, with Adesola Oyinlola and Victor Imevbore among its directors.

The family has asked Tinubu, the EFCC, the judiciary and the Nigeria Correctional Service to ensure court orders are obeyed, and called on the National Human Rights Commission and civil society organisations to monitor the case.