The Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja has discharged and acquitted the Managing Director of Lionstone Offshore Services Limited, Mr Amaechi Ndili, his co-defendant, Mrs Njide Chizoba Ndili, and the two companies of all charges arising from a disputed $4,666million claim by Hercules Offshore Nigeria Limited.

Justice O. O. Abike-Fadipe, in her judgment delivered on Wednesday, September 16, 2026, upheld the defendants’ no-case submission, ruling that the prosecution failed to establish a prima facie case against any of the defendants on the four-count charge.

The judge also found that the criminal proceedings amounted to an abuse of court process, particularly against the background that the dispute over the money had previously been subjected to arbitration and subsequent judicial proceedings.

The defendants had been charged with conspiracy to steal, stealing by dishonest conversion, stealing funds held under direction, and stealing by persons having an interest in the property allegedly stolen.

The prosecution alleged that between July 2012 and September 2013, the defendants dishonestly converted the $4,666,234.28 received from Addax Petroleum Development Nigeria Limited in connection with a contractual arrangement involving Lionstone Offshore Services Limited and Hercules Offshore Nigeria Limited.

The defendants, however, consistently maintained that the Addax contract was separate and independent from the Joint Bidding Agreement relied upon by Hercules.

They contended that Hercules had no contractual, legal, equitable, beneficial or proprietary interest in the disputed sum, which they said arose from the separate Addax contract.

The defendants were arraigned on an amended four-count charge on January 30, 2023, to which they pleaded not guilty.

During the trial, the prosecution called three witnesses and tendered several exhibits before closing its case on December 9, 2025.

The defendants subsequently filed a no-case submission, arguing that the evidence placed before the court did not establish any criminal offence or provide sufficient basis for them to enter a defence.

In resolving the application, Justice Abike-Fadipe reviewed the principles governing no-case submissions and held that the prosecution was required to present legally admissible evidence linking the defendants to the alleged offences.

The court found that the prosecution had failed to meet that threshold.

The judge also considered the history of the dispute, noting that the disputed sum had already been the subject of arbitration and subsequent judicial proceedings.

Hercules had relied on a Joint Bidding Agreement containing an arbitration clause, following which the dispute proceeded to arbitration and resulted in an award in favour of Hercules.

On October 9, 2017, the Federal High Court in Lagos granted leave for the recognition and enforcement of the arbitral award relating to the disputed sum.

Against this Justice Abike-Fadipe questioned the involvement of the police in a dispute for which the parties had already invoked the agreed civil dispute-resolution process.

The court held that the Nigeria Police Force was not an agency for recovering disputed sums, adding that once an arbitral award had been recognised by a court, enforcement was to be pursued through the lawful judicial mechanisms provided for that purpose.

Relying on the Police Act 2020 and appellate authorities, including Haruna v. Sani, the court reaffirmed that the police’s powers to prevent and investigate crime did not extend to enforcing private commercial claims or recovering disputed sums arising from civil transactions.

The court consequently found that the criminal proceedings amounted to an improper use of the criminal justice process in a commercial dispute.

Justice Abike-Fadipe held that the proceedings constituted an abuse of court process and declined to allow the criminal process or police powers to be used to exert pressure in relation to the disputed commercial sum.

Having found that there was no legally sufficient evidence requiring the defendants to answer the charges, the court upheld that there is no-case submission.

The judge consequently discharged and acquitted Ndili, Njide Chizoba Ndili, Lionstone Offshore Services Limited and Lionstone Company Limited on all four counts.