By Nkechi Eze
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Wednesday arraigned the Managing Director of Intermediate Investment Holdings Limited, Ufoma Joseph Immanuel, before the Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos, over an alleged $1.5 million investment fraud.
In an official signed statement, the Commission’s spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, disclosed that Immanuel, alongside his company, Intermediate Investment Holdings Limited, was arraigned before Justice Mojisola Dada on a two-count charge bordering on obtaining by false pretence and forgery.
According to the charge, the defendant allegedly induced Adebisi Adebutu of R28 Holdings Limited to deposit $1.5 million between April 2022 and October 2023 for purported investments described as cash or capital cost in Chappal Petroleum Development Company Limited, business development cost in Intermediate Investment Holdings Limited, and capital call in Chappal Energies Mauritius Limited.
The prosecution alleged that the defendant promised the investor reimbursement of the investment, payment of a development capital fee of $2.25 million and a 22.4 per cent equity stake in Intermediate Investment Holdings Limited—representations the EFCC said were false.
In the second count, Immanuel was accused of forging a document titled “Term Sheet,” allegedly presented as having been executed by Sherrif Oluwo and Olaniran Osotuyi in order to facilitate the alleged fraudulent transaction.
The defendant pleaded not guilty to the charges when they were read to him in court.
Following the plea, prosecution counsel Babatunde Sonoiki urged the court to fix a date for trial and requested that the defendant be remanded in the custody of the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) pending the conclusion of investigations.
Sonoiki also informed the court that during the previous sitting on March 2, 2026, defence counsel Oluseun Awonuga allegedly assaulted a member of the prosecution team, Emenike Mgbemele, while attempting to serve the defendant with court processes on the court’s directive.
According to him, a video recording of the alleged incident exists and may be tendered before the court.
Awonuga, however, informed the court that he had filed a preliminary objection challenging the proceedings and urged the court to discountenance the prosecution’s counter-affidavit, arguing that the Federal High Court had earlier ordered the EFCC not to arrest the defendant.
Responding, the prosecution maintained that the ruling referenced by the defence arose from a civil matter and did not prevent the defendant from being arraigned in a court of competent jurisdiction.
After hearing arguments from both parties, Justice Dada adjourned the matter until May 7, 2026, for ruling on the preliminary objection.
The court also ordered that the defendant be remanded in the custody of INTERPOL pending the conclusion of investigations, after which he would be transferred to a correctional centre while awaiting the hearing of his bail application.
The EFCC further disclosed that Immanuel was arrested by INTERPOL on March 4, 2026 while attempting to leave the country, following earlier court proceedings in which he had been declared wanted after failing to appear in court.
