South-East’s Return to Peace Should Not Be Jeopardised, Analyst Warns

EFCC Declares Chappal Energies CEO, Ufoma Immanuel, Wanted for Alleged Fraud

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has declared Ufoma Joseph Immanuel, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Chappal Energies, wanted over alleged involvement in obtaining money by false pretence and forgery.

In a public notice issued on Wednesday, the anti-graft agency said Immanuel is being sought in connection with a case of financial fraud currently under investigation.

> “The public is hereby notified that UFOMA JOSEPH IMMANUEL, whose photograph appears above, is wanted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in an alleged case of obtaining money by false pretence and forgery,” the statement read.

According to the EFCC, the 46-year-old Edo State indigene was last seen at 77 Nelson Mandela Street, Maitama, Abuja. The Commission has called on individuals with credible information on his whereabouts to report to any of its offices across the country, including branches in Ibadan, Uyo, Sokoto, Maiduguri, Benin, Makurdi, Kaduna, Ilorin, Enugu, Kano, Lagos, Gombe, Port Harcourt and Abuja.

Immanuel, a founding partner of Chappal Energies, was appointed Managing Director of Chappal Petroleum Development Company in January 2021. The company, which focuses on ESG-driven, energy-independent projects, specialises in extracting value from distressed brownfield upstream assets in the Niger Delta.

Before joining Chappal, Immanuel served as Head of Corporate Finance and Strategy at Eroton Exploration and Production.

His declaration as wanted comes months after the high-profile $860 million divestment deal between TotalEnergies and Chappal Energies collapsed in September, following Chappal’s failure to meet key financial obligations.

Falana Faces Backlash for Linking Gaduwa Dispute to 2015 Zaria Tragedy

Abuja – Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Femi Falana, has come under intense criticism following remarks in which he compared a routine civil-military incident in Gaduwa to the tragic 2015 Zaria event.

The statements, widely described as reckless and inflammatory, drew sharp condemnation from the Concerned Defenders of National Consciousness and Integrity (CDNCI), a civil society group committed to safeguarding national memory and integrity.

In a strongly worded statement released on Saturday, the group accused Falana of engaging in “malicious and intellectually dishonest rhetoric” that diminishes the gravity of the Zaria tragedy. “To invoke the profound pain of Zaria—a complex event that shook the nation—as a flippant ‘what if’ scenario over a land dispute is the height of irresponsibility,” the statement said.

The CDNCI further emphasized that military generals are custodians of the state, sworn to protect Nigeria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. “To reduce this sacred responsibility to a crude analogy in a political dispute is an unforgivable display of ignorance regarding governance and statecraft,” the statement added.

The civil society group also questioned Falana’s motivations, suggesting that his comments marked a departure from the principled advocacy for which he has long been known. “This is the undignified downfall of a man once regarded as a social crusader. He has traded his mantle of social advocacy for political expediency,” the statement read.

The CDNCI called on Falana to issue a “profound and unequivocal apology” to the Nigerian people, the Armed Forces, and the families affected by past conflicts. The group warned that failure to do so could “cement his legacy not as a defender of the people, but as a merchant of discord.”

Falana’s comments, and the backlash they have sparked, underscore the sensitive nature of national memory in Nigeria and the expectations placed on public figures to uphold civil discourse.