Court Acquits Lionstone MD, Others in $4.66m Theft Case

The Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja has discharged and acquitted the Managing Director of Lionstone Offshore Services, Amaechi Ndili, and three other Defendants over an alleged theft of $4.66 million belonging to Hercules Offshore Nigeria Limited.

 Justice Olubunmi Abike-Fadipe delivered the judgement on September 16, 2026, after upholding the Defendants’ no-case submission in a four-count charge bordering on conspiracy, stealing and dishonest conversion.

 Other Defendants were Njide Chizoba Ndili, Lionstone Offshore Services Limited and Lionstone Company Limited.

The prosecution had alleged that the Defendants conspired to steal or dishonestly convert $4,666,234.28 between July 2012 and September 2013. The money was reportedly connected to payments received from Addax Petroleum, for Hercules Offshore Nigeria Limited. The Defendants had pleaded not guilty to the charges.

 In her judgement, the Judge reportedly noted that Hercules Offshore had obtained an arbitration award in London, and an order from the Federal High Court in 2017 to enforce the award.

 The circumstances surrounding the dispute raised questions about the use of criminal proceedings, to pursue what the court viewed as a debt-recovery matter. Justice Abike-Fadipe stressed that the Police were not debt-recovery agents, and described the prosecution as an abuse of court process. 

The judgement brings the criminal case against the Defendants to an end, at the trial court. It also highlights the distinction between criminal prosecution and the enforcement of financial claims through civil proceedings.

The acquittal followed the court’s decision that, the prosecution had not established a case requiring the Defendants to enter a defence.