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The Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed an amended suit filed by Intels Nigeria Limited seeking to restrain the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) from investigating an alleged $74 million debt owed to the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) by the company.
Justice Emeka Nwite dismissed the case on October 2, 2026, according to court documents exclusively reviewed by Nairametrics.
Intels had, in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/164/2022, dragged the EFCC, its chairman, the NPA, and the Attorney General of the Federation (the first to fourth defendants) before the court.
Among its reliefs, the company sought an order restraining the EFCC and its operatives from further demanding the sum of $74 million from the plaintiff.
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The amount was allegedly due to the NPA as payment under the Managing Agency Agreement between Intels and the NPA, first entered into in 1998 and renewed in 2003, 2011, and 2018.
Intels’ legal team urged the court to hold that the continuous invitation, arrest, and interrogation of its officials over “purely civil matters relating to, connected with and arising from the agency agreements between the Plaintiff and the NPA” amounted to unlawful harassment, intimidation, and misuse of the EFCC’s statutory powers.
Intels claimed that during interrogations in April 2021, EFCC operatives allegedly attempted to interpret contractual provisions unilaterally without providing a copy of any petition, rejected its ongoing account reconciliation process, and asserted that their own calculations showed a $74 million deficit.
NPA’s objection to the suit
In its preliminary objection filed in July 2025, the NPA urged the court to strike out the suit.
The NPA argued that Intels was challenging the powers of the EFCC and whether its actions amounted to unlawful intimidation and misuse of statutory powers.
It further argued that no allegation of wrongdoing had been made against the NPA and that there was no reasonable cause of action against it.
EFCC’s position on the investigation
The EFCC, on the other hand, maintained that the complaint (petition) forwarded to it by the NPA disclosed matters requiring criminal investigation.
The commission told the court that the “NPA complained of the non-remittance of the sum of USD148,152,572.42 as at 2017 and further alleged that certain third-party payers had been directed to make payments into the account of Intels West Africa Ltd UK with Standard Chartered Bank rather than into the account contemplated by the contractual arrangements.”
The EFCC’s evidence further showed that one Mr Kalu Uche was invited by the commission and made a statement during its investigation.
The EFCC also cited allegations concerning transactions and funds amounting to a substantially larger figure, said to be as much as $1,247,947,083.
Court’s reasoning for dismissing Intels’ suit
In his judgment, Justice Nwite held that the existence of a contractual relationship between parties does not, by itself, determine whether an allegation arising from transactions under that relationship is civil or criminal in nature.
He also stressed that a contractual transaction may provide the background to an allegation of criminal diversion or conversion.
- “Conversely, the fact that a contractual relationship exists cannot confer upon a law enforcement agency a power to determine the parties’ contractual rights or to adjudicate upon the disputed amount,” he stated.
- The judge confirmed that Intels and the NPA had a contractual relationship, adding, “They plainly did.”
Nwite highlighted that although the EFCC’s statutory powers have limits, the existence of an arbitration clause in the parties’ agreement does not constitute a complete bar to a genuine criminal investigation.
- “An arbitration clause regulates the resolution of contractual disputes between the parties; it does not confer immunity upon transactions from investigation where there is credible material suggesting that a criminal offence may have been committed,” the judge stated.
- On the totality of the evidence, the judge said he was satisfied that the complaint that led to the EFCC investigation had a factual basis arising from allegations of diversion and conversion, which were sufficiently distinct from the mere existence of a debt.
- Nwite stressed that it would be incorrect to characterise the EFCC’s entire intervention in the case as a purely civil debt recovery exercise.
The judge also stated that nothing in his decision should be understood as conferring on the EFCC the authority to finally determine the contractual accounts of Intels and the NPA or to deprive the parties of any contractual or judicial remedies available to them.
He held that the contractual relationship remained governed by the agreements between the parties and the applicable dispute-resolution mechanisms, while any investigation could proceed only within the scope of the statutory powers conferred on the investigating agency and in relation to matters properly falling within those powers.
In the circumstances, the judge said he was unable to find that Intels had established grounds for the broad declarations and injunctive orders it sought against the defendants.
According to the judge, the evidence before the court did not justify declaring the EFCC’s investigation unlawful merely because the transactions under investigation arose from a contractual relationship or because the parties were simultaneously engaged in reconciling their accounts.
He explained that granting the plaintiff’s reliefs in their broad form would have the effect of preventing the investigation of transactions merely because they arose under contracts containing dispute-resolution provisions.
He added that this would go beyond protecting Intel’s contractual rights and would, in effect, confer immunity on the transactions from lawful investigation.
- “The evidence does not warrant such an order,” Nwite stated.
He subsequently refused to grant Intels’ reliefs and dismissed the suit.
INTELS’ dispute with the NPA
INTELS Nigeria Limited is a firm engaged in integrated logistics services for the Nigerian oil and gas industry.
Nairametrics recalls that in October 2017, the Federal Government ordered the NPA to cancel its boat pilotage monitoring and supervision contract with INTELS over an alleged breach of contract.
- The NPA alleged that INTELS had failed to remit boat pilotage revenue amounting to approximately $207.646 million, alongside other revenues.
- INTELS denied the allegations at the time, arguing that the NPA was the party indebted to it.
In 2023, former Nigerian Vice President Atiku Abubakar also countered claims that he still owned a stake in INTELS, saying he had sold his interest in 2020 for $100 million.
