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The High Court of Lagos State, sitting in Tapa, has granted interim orders directing the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to immediately remove, withdraw and cease the publication or circulation of any notices, posters or announcements portraying Ogadima Dominic Duru and Khalidur Rahman Mohammad Talukder, directors of DKK Partners Limited, as wanted persons in connection with an ongoing contractual dispute.
Pending the hearing and determination of the Motion on Notice, the court also granted an interim order restraining Yellow Card Financial Inc. and Yellow Card Financial Nigeria Limited from invoking or deploying law enforcement agencies to recover the disputed contractual sum or otherwise enforce obligations arising from the parties’ trading contracts. The court similarly restrained the EFCC from taking any further coercive or enforcement steps relating to the dispute until the motion is determined.
As part of the interim orders, the court directed DKK Partners Limited to deposit the disputed sum of US$80,000 into an interest-yielding account pending the determination of the application, to preserve the funds while the parties’ respective rights are determined.
The interim orders were made by Honourable Justice (Dr.) Rosul O. Olukolu in Suit No. LD/11047GCM/2026, filed by DKK Partners Limited against Yellow Card Financial Inc., Yellow Card Financial Nigeria Limited and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission as first, second and third defendants respectively.
While moving the application, counsel to the claimant, Olamide Balogun, informed the court that DKK Partners Limited had voluntarily sought leave to deposit the disputed sum as a demonstration of good faith and its willingness to honour its contractual obligations. He argued that the disagreement should be resolved through the civil dispute resolution process agreed upon by the parties rather than through the deployment of criminal investigative powers.
In the substantive suit, DKK Partners Limited contends that the underlying trading contracts were executed between DKK Partners Limited, a company incorporated in England and Wales, and Yellow Card Financial Inc., a company incorporated in the United States.
According to the claimant, the parties did not contemplate that disputes arising from their private commercial agreements would be referred to Nigerian law enforcement agencies as a means of recovering an alleged contractual debt or exerting commercial pressure, having expressly agreed on the governing law, jurisdiction and dispute resolution mechanisms applicable to their contractual relationship.
Among the reliefs sought, the claimant is asking the court to declare that Nigerian law enforcement agencies cannot lawfully be deployed as debt recovery agents or contractual enforcement mechanisms in disputes arising from private commercial agreements. It is also seeking orders directing the withdrawal of petitions and related publications, perpetual injunctions restraining any further resort to criminal processes in connection with the contractual dispute, a corrective publication, ₦500 million in general damages for alleged reputational and commercial losses, as well as other consequential reliefs.
The substantive claims have not yet been determined by the court, and the interim orders do not amount to a final determination of the parties’ rights or liabilities.
The matter was adjourned to September 29, 2026, for a report of service and further proceedings.
