Court Orders FIRS, NCDMB Joinder In Alleged $10 Million Unpaid Debt Case Against Halkin

Justice O.I. Adelaja granted the joinder on Tuesday, following a motion by Halkin’s legal team, led by Chikaosolu Ojukwu, SAN. The case revolves around claims by Eunisell that Halkin owes $10 million for services rendered at the Atala Marginal Field (OML 46) from January 2022 to September 2024. Halkin’s defense, however, describes the claim as fraudulent.

Court documents reveal that Eunisell’s legal team, led by Samuel Agweh, SAN, acknowledged that in 2021, the Federal Government of Nigeria, through the Minister of Petroleum and the Department of Petroleum Resources (now the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission), awarded the Atala Marginal Field (OML 46) mining lease/license to Halkin.

Under a Service Agreement dated January 20, 2022, Halkin engaged Eunisell to provide services at the Atala Marginal Field (OML 46), specifically the leasing, operation, and maintenance of a Modular Early Production Facility (EPF) for two years.

Eunisell stated that it deployed its equipment and personnel for the agreed operations and issued invoices totaling $7,207,933.99 during the agreement’s tenure. The company further claimed that despite repeated demands, Halkin had refused to settle the outstanding debt. Additionally, Eunisell emphasized that all invoices and payments were subject to statutory deductions, including Value Added Tax (VAT), Withholding Tax (WT), and the Nigerian Content Development Fund (NCD), and that the claimed amount was exclusive of these statutory deductions.

The claimant sought an order compelling Halkin to present evidence of statutory payments or remittances to the appropriate government agencies.

On March 3, 2025, Halkin’s legal team filed a motion arguing that Eunisell’s claims involved tax remittances and deductions, which could only be effectively addressed by FIRS and NCDMB as the statutory agencies responsible for maintaining tax records.

“The documents the Claimant/Respondent has requested the Defendant/Applicant to produce are tax deductibles that are not in the Defendant’s custody but are held by the Federal Inland Revenue Service and the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, respectively. It has become necessary to join the Federal Inland Revenue Service and the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board as defendants in this suit, as they are the only authorities with the power to present documents relevant to the indicated tax deductibles before this Honourable Court, ensuring the effective resolution of all issues in dispute,” Ojukwu stated.

He further noted that he intended to cross-examine witnesses from FIRS and NCDMB regarding the deductions and remittances of tax obligations linked to Eunisell’s claims, adding that such scrutiny would expose the alleged fraudulent nature of the debt claim.

During the court session on Tuesday, Halkin’s legal team orally requested the joinder of FIRS and NCDMB as co-defendants, maintaining that Eunisell’s claims were based on fraudulent invoices.

Eunisell’s legal team did not oppose the joinder request, leading Justice Adelaja to rule in favor of adding FIRS and NCDMB as defendants in the ongoing litigation. The case was subsequently adjourned to April 22, 2025, for trial.