The thanksgiving gathering was held at Ekeh’s residence and was organised by his wife and children, with opening prayer led by Reverend Father Francis Ike of the Church of Assumption, Falomo, Ikoyi. Obasanjo attended with his wife.

Speaking at the event, Obasanjo described Ekeh as “an achiever and a very kind man who deserves to be celebrated.” He said Ekeh was among those who took advantage of opportunities created during his administration between 1999 and 2007.

According to him, it is one thing to create opportunities and another to identify and use them. He said Ekeh was one of the people whose success made it possible for others to credit his government with encouraging investment and wealth creation.

Obasanjo said he was proud of Ekeh’s achievements and urged Nigerians to continue seeking opportunities despite economic challenges. He added jokingly that Ekeh would celebrate 80, 90 and 100 years, drawing laughter from guests.

Also present at the event was veteran journalist and Vanguard publisher Sam Amuka. Former Lagos State Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola attended with his wife.

Other dignitaries included former INEC Chairman Professor Maurice Iwu; Chairman of MTN, Dr. Ernest Ndukwe; Founder of Stanbic IBTC Bank, Mr. Atedo Peterside; Chairman of Fidelity Bank, Mrs. Amaka Onwughalu; Managing Director of Fidelity Bank, Dr. Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe; and Chairman of Seplat Energy, Mr. Udoma Udo-Udoma.

Secondary school classmates of Ekeh, including entertainer Charles Oputa, were also in attendance. Ekeh’s elder brother, HRM Eze George Ekeh, traditional ruler of Ishi Ubomiri Autonomous Community in Imo State, performed traditional rites welcoming him into the community’s elders’ circle.

In his remarks, Ekeh thanked Obasanjo for his support over the years and described him as a leader who created room for entrepreneurs to grow. He said he attributed his success to faith, discipline and trust.

Ekeh recalled starting his career as a mass servant and chorister. He said he chose early in life not to drink alcohol or smoke and has kept to that decision. He also spoke about starting his technology business with his school fees at a time when the sector was still developing in his home state.

He said trust and integrity had guided his business decisions and helped him build credibility with partners and institutions.

Ekeh also acknowledged the support of his wife, describing her as a key pillar in his personal and professional life.

The post “A True Achiever”: Obasanjo, Industry Titans Celebrate Zinox Chairman Leo Stan Ekeh at 70 appeared first on Tech | Business | Economy.

His remarks struck a chord with participants as he called on the Federal Government to prioritize affordable electricity for educational and research institutions across the country.

Ekeh emphasized that unreliable and costly power supply remains one of the greatest obstacles limiting innovation, digital adoption, and the competitiveness of Nigerian institutions.

He urged the government to consider targeted subsidies for universities, polytechnics, and research centres to ensure that young Nigerians have uninterrupted access to the digital tools and infrastructure required to compete in a knowledge-driven economy.

He noted that less than 5% of educational institutions nationwide can afford to power their campuses for even six hours a day, while the cost of electricity from PHCN remains very high for effective digital learning.

Under such conditions, he questioned how under-resourced knowledge workers can access global content online to teach students.

He stressed that interventions of this nature are urgently required to improve the quality of graduates we expect to compete as global citizens.

According to him, even students and lecturers who have managed to acquire digital learning tools often go for weeks without being able to recharge their devices due to the absence of electricity.

Beyond power, the Zinox Chairman also touched on broader critical issues, including the urgent need to strengthen local manufacturing, deepen digital literacy, and incentivize private sector partnerships that can fast-track Nigeria’s technological growth.

His call resonated with the conference theme, “Intelligent, Secure and Sustainable Innovation for a Connected World,” as he reminded stakeholders that no nation can achieve true digital transformation without deliberate domestic investment in human capital and infrastructure.

“At Zinox, we have nothing to prove. We have been taking a lot of pains to uphold global standards, as demonstrated by our critical global certifications. I confidently vouch for all products supplied by the Zinox Group. We are fully equipped, both technically and financially, to support our corporations and governments at all levels in this digital race powered by AI. This is the only way Africa can take a leadership role; otherwise, we risk being permanently marginalized on the global stage.”

“The next five years are critical for Nigeria’s emergence as one of the leading nations. If we combine common sense with technology, along with our large population, we can ensure that wealth becomes a right for over 75% of Nigerians. Investing in tech businesses is currently the most cost-effective and sustainable option, and the returns are sure to be highly rewarding,” he concluded.

His message set the tone for robust conversations at the conference and highlighted the role of industry leaders, government, and academia in shaping a sustainable technology ecosystem for Nigeria’s future.

The post Zinox Chairman Urges FG to Subsidize Power for Educational Institutions appeared first on Tech | Business | Economy.

The facility, donated by Mr. Leo Stan Ekeh, chairman of Zinox Group and Founder of LSEF, was commissioned on his behalf by the President of the Nigeria Computer Society (NCS), Dr. Muhammad Sirajo Aliyu.

The centre is equipped with the latest Zinox computers, powered by the iPower renewable energy suite, which features high-performance solar panels and certified lithium batteries.

It is also connected to a 24-hour, non-disruptive satellite internet service powered by Starlink, a service that the LSEF has committed to funding for the next five years.

According to Mr. Ekeh, the Tech Experience Centre is dedicated to the use of students and knowledge workers at FUB, with the aim of equipping them with the digital skills and resources required to compete with their peers globally and contribute meaningfully to Nigeria’s economic development.

This centre is one of several cutting-edge technology hubs donated by the Leo Stan Ekeh Foundation to tertiary institutions across Nigeria. It supports the Federal Government’s vision to upgrade the nation’s higher institutions to world-class standards.

For over 25 years, Mr. Ekeh and the Zinox Group have consistently invested in promoting digital education by donating tech laboratories and innovation hubs.

In recent years, the Foundation has delivered and equipped centres at St. Augustine University, Lagos, and Imo State University and refurbished older facilities it had donated in the past.

According to Mr. Ekeh, the next phase will see the Foundation extend similar interventions to secondary schools across the country.

He called on politicians, government agencies, and wealthy Nigerians to intentionally invest in the nation’s education sector, stressing that a well-educated populace is the Foundation for national development.

Mr. Ekeh expressed his appreciation to the Chairman of the University Council, the council members, Vice Chancellor Professor Muhammad Zaiyan Umar, members of the University Management, staff, and students of FUB, as well as the Honourable Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, for their support in accommodating the LSEF’s vision.

Speaking on behalf of the university, Professor Muhammad Zaiyan Umar, Vice Chancellor of FUB, expressed deep appreciation to Mr. Ekeh and the LSEF for the generous donation.

“This Tech Experience Centre will make a remarkable difference in the academic and research output of our students and staff. We are grateful for Mr. Ekeh’s vision, generosity, and long-standing contributions to this institution and to digital education in Nigeria. This facility is more than a building with computers; it is an investment in the future of our graduates and the growth of our nation.”

Speaking on the sidelines of the commissioning, Mr. Chimezie Orisakwe, head of Corporate Communications for the Zinox Group, highlighted Mr. Ekeh’s sustained promotion of digital learning across Nigeria, from interventions in the media sector to landmark projects with the media, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the National Population Commission (NPC), and others.

He also highlighted Mr. Ekeh’s reflection on the current state of Nigeria’s education sector, warning that many institutions, both public and private, face severe funding deficits.

This, he noted, raises the risk of closures, which would deprive graduates of the enduring legacy of their alma maters.

To address these challenges, the Zinox Chairman proposed that the Federal Government adopt a college system and reclassify existing universities.

He recommended granting approvals for specialized professional colleges affiliated with reputable universities, similar to the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) model with the University of Lagos.

Ekeh emphasized that the quality of an institution’s academic content now matters more than its physical size.

Those passionate about establishing tertiary institutions must be focused on their core mission, be willing to invest adequately, and possess the mental and financial capacity to sustain standards.

He further urged that educational institutions be regulated even more stringently than banks, given their central role in producing the human capital that drives both the public and private sectors.

“Educational institutions are not limited liability companies that can be liquidated at will. Their true profit is not in short-term returns but in the quality of graduates they produce, men and women who can lead this nation and give back to the institutions that shaped them,” Ekeh stated.

The donation to FUB is the latest in a long list of interventions by the Zinox Group to support Nigeria’s technological advancement.

Through the Leo Stan Ekeh Foundation, the Group has also funded thousands of scholarships, donated modern digital learning facilities nationwide, extended non-interest loans to budding entrepreneurs, and supported churches, hospitals, and humanitarian causes.

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The directive was issued via the office of the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN) and communicated in a letter dated October 28, 2022, from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) of the Federation, to the law firm of Falana and Falana.

Part of the letter reads: “I am directed to write in reference to the above caption and to inform you that the Honourable Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice in exercise of the power conferred upon him by section 174(1)(c) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, as amended, has withdrawn the authorization earlier granted to you dated 10^th May, 2022 to prosecute the case mentioned below. You are accordingly, requested to withdraw Charge no. FCT/HC/CR/469/2022 in the interest of justice.”  

The letter was signed by M. B. Abubakar, Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation on behalf of the Attorney General and Minister of Justice.    

Consequently, by this letter, the Charge No: FCT/HC/CR/469/2022, purportedly filed by Falana & Falana against Mr. Leo Stan Ekeh, Chioma Ekeh, Chris Eze Ozims, Shade Oyebode, Charles Adigwe, and others, is no longer tenable and now baseless.  

A copy of this letter, which was issued by the FG after a review of the facts of the matter, has been communicated to the chambers of Mathew Burkaa SAN, legal counsel for Mr. Ekeh and others, under cover of a letter dated Monday 31^st October 2022 from the Office of the DPP of the Federation on behalf of the Attorney General of the Federation, reconfirming the withdrawal of the authorization earlier given to Falana & Falana and directing them to discontinue the said Charge no. FCT/HC/CR/469/2022.  

This, therefore, lays to rest the allegations bandied about by Mr. Benjamin Joseph of Citadel Oracle Concept Limited, that Mr. Ekeh and the other persons mentioned in the various publications are to be arraigned in court on 8^th November 2022. Rather, it is on this date that the firm of Falana & Falana is supposed to appear in court and formally withdraw the said Charge no. FCT/HC/CR/469/2022, following the clear directives of the Honourable Attorney General of the Federation.

Conversely, the Honourable AGF, through the Office of the DPP, in a letter dated June 6, 2022 had directed the Inspector General of Police to prosecute Benjamin Joseph to a logical conclusion.

The directive came a couple of weeks after the Attorney General discovered that material information was withheld in the application by Falana & Falana for the authorization earlier granted to prosecute Ekeh and others.

Crucially, Mr. Falana SAN, who had only recently started representing Benjamin Joseph, failed to disclose to the AGF that the FCT High Court presided by Honourable Justice Damlami Senchi had in February 2021 delivered a judgment in Charge No. FCT/HC/CR/244/2018, dismissed as false and malicious the various allegations put forward by Mr. Benjamin Joseph and awarded the sum of N20m against him as damages for false petitioning and to serve as a deterrence to others who may engage in false information to the investigation agencies.  

The respected SAN also failed to disclose that his client has refused to be cross-examined since 2018 in an ongoing criminal case (Charge No. CR/216/2016) instituted against him by the Federal Government of Nigeria through the Office of the IGP based on false information on the same allegations.

Also, it was not disclosed to the Honourable AGF that the Nigerian Police Force Headquarters had by a comprehensive final report dated 1^st December 2020, after a thorough review of the facts of the case, absolved Mr. Ekeh and all the aforementioned persons of any criminal liability in the entire transaction leading to this case, but rather recommended the continuation of the trial of Mr. Benjamin Joseph which began since 2016.

Consequently, he is due to appear in court on Thursday, November 3, 2022, as directed by the Office of the AGF.

Despite these deliberate omissions by his legal counsel, Mr. Benjamin Joseph had embarked on a media trial, publishing a series of sponsored fake news against Mr. Ekeh, with intent to blackmail him as confirmed by his former partner, Princess Kama.

Kama, who was responsible for helping Joseph win the bid for the FIRS contract, had recently come out to state that Joseph was an ingrate who had attempted to divert the entire funds for the contract without paying for the laptops supplied to them on credit, despite being the beneficiary of an interest-free credit facility from Technology Distributions Ltd. without which it would have been unable to execute the contract.

According to her, Joseph failed in convincing her to go along with his dastardly plans; he had attempted to take all the profits from the deal against their pre-agreed sharing percentage – a move she also resisted.

‘‘This infuriated him and he demanded to take all the profits from the contract which I also resisted because we had a pre-agreed sharing percentage. Chief Afe Babalola, who represented him at the time, tried to intervene by asking me to concede a larger portion of the profit to him but Benjamin was greedy and wanted all. It was at this point that he turned around to claim that he was not aware of the contract, that his company was fraudulently used to execute the contract with a fake Board resolution, and that no single laptop was supplied. Why didn’t he report to the Police earlier if indeed a fraud was perpetrated on his company?” Kama had revealed.

This latest development and intervention by the Federal Government further vindicates the unflinching position of the management of Zinox that its Chairman, Ekeh, wife and others were not in any way guilty of any wrongdoing by extending credit facility to Citadel in the long-drawn case which has spanned nearly 10 years.

Zinox had insisted that it would not succumb to any attempts at blackmail and that it would not negotiate with any would-be blackmailers, even as it had consistently expressed faith that the course of justice would eventually be served in the matter.

The ongoing saga relates to a 2012 credit sale of HP Laptops to Citadel Oracle Concepts Limited on an interest-free credit facility when they could not fund the contract awarded to them by FIRS to supply laptops, along with twelve other companies.

Two directors of Technology Distributions, Barr. Chris Eze Ozims and Folashade Oyebode, had been appointed signatories to a bank account opened by Citadel for the disbursement of the funds for the contract, solely as security/guarantee for the laptops supplied on credit and in view of previous bad experiences from other creditors of TD. After the FIRS paid all suppliers who were funded by Technology Distribution (TD), the other companies paid TD the pre-agreed invoice value.

But Mr. Benjamin Joseph, the MD of Citadel, tried to divert TD’s fund but his partner Princess Kama resisted that move. After TD was paid, a dispute arose between Benjamin Joseph and his partner, Princess Kama, on profit sharing.

At a point, Chief Afe Babalola, SAN who was Counsel to Benjamin Joseph, tried to intervene and cause an amicable settlement of the profit-sharing dispute. But Benjamin Joseph wanted the entire money without paying TD.

It was at this point that he changed the story and contended that he was not aware of the contract and that his company was used to defraud FIRS. However, during investigation by Nigerian Police and EFCC, the FIRS provided proof that Benjamin Joseph was indeed aware of the contract and that all the ordered computers were fully supplied and received by the FIRS.  In addition, Mr. Benjamin Joseph again reported the matter to the Special Fraud Unit (SFU) of the Nigerian Police Force, Milverton Road, Ikoyi.

The SFU conducted investigations and indicted him on the basis that a forensic analysis report showed that he signed the board resolution which he alleged was forged. He thereafter lodged another petition to the Police Headquarters, Abuja, and after a thorough investigation, it was found again that his allegations were false.

It was on the basis of that finding that he was charged to court in 2016 in Charge No: CR/216/2016 (IGP vs. Benjamin Joseph) for giving false information. That Charge is presently pending before Honourable Justice Peter Kekemeke of the High Court of the FCT, Abuja.

Equally important, the Police (Prosecution) has closed their case since 2018 and Mr. Benjamin Joseph has been called upon by the Court to open his defence. Instead of proceeding with the said defense to conclusion, he has devised different tactics in his bid to sway the AGF to discontinue the criminal charge preferred against him.

Interestingly, the law firm of Falana & Falana who filed the present charge had earlier in 2018 applied to the AGF by a letter dated November 1, 2018, for a fiat to prosecute Ekeh and the others mentioned in the articles. In order to convince the office of the AGF, Mr. Joseph submitted some spurious reports said to have been issued in 2015 and in 2020 by the Nigerian Police, which his solicitors again used to apply for another fiat.

However, the Nigerian Police Headquarters Abuja, by a comprehensive report dated December 1, 2020, discredited and disclaimed all those reports relied upon by Mr. Benjamin Joseph, which was used to convince the AGF to grant a fiat in May 2022.

On this basis and upon a critical review of all documents relating to the case, the office of the AGF saw through the falsehood and issued a new letter to the Police dated June 6, 2022 directing the Police to continue the prosecution of Benjamin Joseph and bring the criminal charge against him to a logical conclusion.

This letter was brought to the attention of the court by counsel to the Nigerian Police through their letter dated September 26, 2022.

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On three previous occasions, Mr. Joseph had appealed to the past Attorneys-General of the Federation to discontinue the said criminal proceedings against him but all the Attorneys-General refused his plea and rather directed the Police to prosecute him to a logical conclusion.

Their refusals are contained in the letters dated 10th February 2017, 7th May 2018, and 6th June 2022, addressed from the Office of the Attorney-General to the Inspector-General of Police.

• Although, he was visibly excited when the court acquitted him of the charges following the intervention of the Attorney-General, it is to be noted that the acquittal of Mr. Joseph was not on the merit of the case, as the trial was not concluded, and the court did not give a judgment of its own.

It was rather based on the prerogative of the Attorney-General in the exercise of his constitutional power to discontinue any case with or without reason.

• This is more so considering that a subsisting judgment was given by Honourable Justice Senchi of the FCT High Court in Charge No. CR/244/2018 which dismissed as false all the allegations made by Mr. Joseph against Technology Distributions, Access Bank, and other persons and imposed the sum of N20million as damages against him for false petitioning.

Despite the acquittal of Mr. Joseph which has saved him from a possible jail term, it still does not derogate from the judgment of Honorable Justice Senchi that had already found Mr. Joseph liable for false information.

Indeed, the acquittal was made in utter defiance of another subsisting order given on 14th June 2024 by Honourable Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court Abuja in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/376/2024, which had restrained all parties including the Honourable Attorney-General from tampering with the said Charge No. CR/216/2016 pending the determination of the suit before him.

Campaign of Calumny

What is very bewildering in the whole scenario is that Mr. Benjamin Joseph, since 2014, intensified a media campaign against Technology Distributions Limited and Zinox Technologies Limited who had nothing to do with the problem between him and his partner and representatives, Princess Kama and Chief Igbokwe.

He engaged the services of one Bassey Udo, the publisher of a relatively unknown online newspaper, Mediatracnet.

It is to be noted that the publications of Mediatracnet are all falsely skewed and biased in favour of Mr. Joseph because Zinox Technologies and its Chairman, Leo Stan Ekeh have taken court actions against the said Bassey Udo.

• He is, therefore, acting on a vendetta.  The paradox is that neither Zinox nor its Chairman was involved in the transaction.

Indeed, in the course of all the investigations, reports and judgments, there was nowhere Zinox was mentioned as being involved. Moreover, Mrs. Chioma Ekeh, the wife of Mr. Leo Stan Ekeh, has never been cited as a suspect or accused in all the Police reports, both from the SFU and the Police headquarters. Neither her nor her husband ever made any statements to the Police and were never invited.

Yet, all publications orchestrated by Mr. Joseph bear ‘Zinox’ as its title with the photograph of its chairman, Leo Stan Ekeh (and sometimes with his wife – Chioma Ekeh) prominently featured as if they had any personal dealing with Mr. Joseph and his company.

• Technology Distributions and Zinox Technologies are totally different companies with different shareholders, boards, and management.

More importantly, the judgment of Honourable Justice Senchi in the said Charge No. CR/244/2018 unequivocally stated that Technology Distributions and its staff were not liable for any fraud; that they were entitled to receive the proceeds of the laptops supplied on credit to Citadel which were delivered to the FIRS.

The judgment fully absolved Mr. Chris Eze Ozims and Shade Oyebode stating that they never acted as directors of Citadel but only as signatories to the account that received the proceeds of the FIRS contract, which was the only security for the laptops supplied on credit.

Moreover, the final Report by the Legal Department of the Police Headquarters on the matter dated 1st December 2020 absolved Technology Distributions and its said staff of any criminal liability and disclaimed as spurious a certain 2015 report of one Police Special Enquiry Bureau (SEB) headed by CP Olufemi Oyeleye and a certain 2015 report by the then Director of Public Prosecution, Mohammad Saidu Diri.

These so-called reports made in 2015 were disclaimed and discarded by the Police Legal Department in their said final report on 1st December 2020 because they were made based only on the petition and statement of Benjamin Joseph without giving an opportunity to the so-called suspects by way of invitation or extracting written statements from them.

How do you find a suspect liable without hearing from him after you heard only from his accuser?

Yet, these are the documents being paraded online by Mr. Joseph as having indicted the staff of Technology Distributions and the Chairman of Zinox, and some staff of Access Bank.

In the publications, Benjamin Joseph claims that the Police SFU had found Technology Distributions and its staff liable but that the Police refused to prosecute them.

• This is totally false because in the criminal trial in Charge No. CR/216/2016, the Investigative Police Officer (Inspector Stephen Ogira) from the SFU who handled the investigations, testified against Benjamin Joseph and stated that their report had absolved TD and its staff of any wrongdoing.

Similarly, the forensic analyst of the Forensic Science Laboratory D. Dept, Force CID, Alagbon Close, Ikoyi, Lagos, (ASP Raphael Onwuzuligbo) who conducted the forensic analysis of the disputed Board resolution and other documents testified that the documents were not forged but were actually signed by Benjamin Joseph.

So, it is false of Mr. Jospeh to still write that the SFU Report indicted the staff of Technology Distributions and Chief Leo Stan Ekeh of his wife, Chioma Ekeh.

It is in this context that, perhaps, the motive of Benjamin Joseph in this inexplicable focus in his online campaign of calumny on Chief Leo Stan Ekeh and his wife, Chioma Ekeh, is probably motivated by a quest to blackmail them and tarnish their reputation, allegedly at the behest of their competitors, and bring down their business which they have strenuously taken more than 35 years to build resulting into Technology Distributions Limited (now TD Africa Limited) as the foremost distributor of ICT products in the West African subregion.

How it all began

This chequered issue arose from a business transaction in December 2012 between Citadel Oracle Concept Limited (Mr. Benjamin Joseph’s company) and their appointed staff/representatives, (Princess Kama and Chief Igbokwe), when they won a contract for the supply of HP laptops to the FIRS that same year.

Just as other retailers who won similar contracts but had no funds to execute the contract, their said staff/representatives approached Technology Distributions Limited (now TD Africa Distributions Limited), the biggest authorized HP distributor in Nigeria, to supply them the laptops on credit pending payment by the FIRS.

In view of previous bad experiences and to avoid exposing the business to bad loans, Technology Distributions Limited, as it is their policy in the normal course of business, insisted that its staff, Mr. Chris Eze Ozims and Mrs. Shade Oyebode, would have to be signatories to an account opened for the purpose of receiving the proceeds of the FIRS contract as security for the laptops supplied on credit.

After the contract was executed and payment effected by the FIRS, TD Africa deducted the pre-agreed invoice sum of the laptops and had its staff resign as signatories to the said account.

A similar procedure applied to the other customers who had similar contracts with FIRS for the supply of similar HP laptops at the time.

Technology Distributions and its named staff have no reason or motive to hijack the contract as falsely alleged by Benjamin Joseph because they had other retailers who had similar contracts with FIRS and were ready to take the same laptops at the same uniform price for supply to the FIRS at the same profit. So, what’s the motive to hijack his contract as he alleged?

 Sharing Formula Problem

Exactly one year after the conclusion of the contract and the parties had gone their ways, Mr. Joseph petitioned the Special Fraud Unit of the Nigerian Police (SFU), Milverton Road, Ikoyi, in 2013, against Princess Kama, the representatives of Citadel and her uncle, Chief Igbokwe (the owner of Ad’Mas Technologies Limited) who equally won similar FIRS contract.

• Because Citadel was unknown to Technology Distributions and had no credit rating with them, Chief Igbokwe, an old customer of Technology Distributions, stood as their guarantor. 

Mr. Joseph claimed that his company was used without his knowledge and that the account opened by his company in Access Bank was not to his knowledge and that the Board resolution used to open the account was forged.

The Police thus subjected the documents, including the Board resolution bearing Mr. Joseph’s signature, to forensic analysis and confirmed that the signature was actually his. He would later join Technology Distributions and its staff as part of those who he claimed hijacked his contract.

However, in the course of the investigations, it emerged that after the execution of the contract, a disagreement arose between him and Princess Kama when they could not agree on the formula for sharing the profit earned from the transaction.

While he insisted on diverting the entire proceeds of the contract to his company, Princess Kama insisted on letting Technology Distributions take the invoice value of the contract because her uncle, Chief Onny Igbokwe had guaranteed the credit.

Mr. Joseph’s then lawyer and legal luminary, Afe Babalola SAN tried to intervene to resolve the issue between them and they held meetings at Ibadan.

However, when they could not reach an amicable settlement, Mr. Joseph changed the narrative – claiming that he had no knowledge of the transaction and reported the case to the Police SFU as a fraud.

The question is: if his company was actually defrauded, why hold settlement meetings first, and when it failed then report to the Police a case of fraud?

Further Investigations by the Police (Force CID) Headquarters Abuja

Not satisfied with the report of the investigation by the Police SFU, Benjamin Joseph went ahead to lodge another petition with the Nigerian Police (Force CID) Headquarters, Abuja, in 2014, on the same set of facts and allegations.

The then Inspector-General of Police, Solomon Arase instructed a detailed investigation.  The investigations by the Force Headquarters also came to the same conclusion as the SFU Report.

It was this deceit that informed the Police to commence criminal proceedings against Mr. Joseph for false and misleading information and waste of Police resources and time, in Charge No. CR/216/16 (IGP vs. Benjamin Joseph), at the FCT High Court, Abuja before Honourable Justice Peter Kekemeke.

Investigation by the EFCC 

Again, in 2016, Mr. Benjamin Joseph petitioned the Office of the then Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo on the same facts, insinuating that his company was used to defraud the Federal Government of Nigeria of over N200m. In this case, he claimed that though payment was made, no computers were supplied to the FIRS.

The EFCC acting on the instruction of the VP launched a nationwide investigation and confirmed that all the laptops were supplied and their assigned users identified at FIRS, and again, showing that Benjamin Joseph lied.

The EFCC report also exonerated Technology Distributions Limited and its staff, Chris Eze Ozims, Shade Oyebode, and Charles Adigwe, of any fraud, as the money received by the company was the actual invoice value of the computers supplied to Mr. Joseph’s company, Citadel, on credit. It was also noted that Zinox Technologies Limited and its Chairman, Mr. Leo Stan Ekeh, had no involvement, whatsoever, with the transaction.

However, following the insistence of Benjamin Joseph, the EFCC charged the said representatives of Citadel, Chief Igbokwe and Princess Kama in Charge No.CR/244/2018 before Honourable Justice Senchi. But in a considered judgment, Honourable Justice Senchi dismissed all the allegations put forward by Benjamin Joseph in his petition to the EFCC as false and imposed damage of N20million against him. The EFCC did not appeal the judgment and indeed saw no reason to do otherwise.

Intervention by the current AGF 

In the criminal charge contained in Charge No. CR/216/2016 before Honourable Justice Peter Kekemeke, while the Police Prosecutor, Simon Lough SAN, closed his case since 2018, Mr. Joseph has used all manner of alibi to delay the fair trial of the case.

He first filed a No-Case Submission, but to which the trial judgment ruled against him to the effect that the Police had established a triable case against him and requested him to enter his defence.

He then started petitioning the office of the past Attorneys-General to withdraw the charge against him but they refused his request and rather directed the Police to prosecute him to logical conclusion.

However, in a curious twist, the current AGF, the respected Lateef Fagbemi SAN, withdrew and discontinued the prosecution of Mr. Joseph.

The volte-face by the AGF is seen as utter disobedience of a subsisting court order given on 14th June 2024 by Honourable Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court Abuja in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/376/2024).

Recall that on Friday, 14 June 2024, a fresh case (Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/376/2024), came up before Honourable Justice Ekwo of the Federal High Court Abuja.

It was a case brought by the duo Chief Onny Igbokwe and Princess Kama (as Plaintiffs) against the Attorney General of the Federation and Inspector General of Police (as Defendants), challenging the directive given by the Attorney General to the Police to withdraw and discontinue the criminal proceedings against Mr. Benjamin Joseph pending before Honourable Justice Peter Kekemeke of the FCT High Court in Charge No. CR/216/2016.

The basis of this new case is that there is a subsisting judgment made by Honourable Justice Senchi of the FCT High Court in Charge No. CR/244/2024, which dismissed as false the same facts and allegations by Benjamin Joseph and imposed a N20million damages against him for giving the EFCC false information.

Since there is a subsisting judgment on the merit of these facts, the Attorney-General overreached himself to now acquit Benjamin Joseph, as if he never gave false information to the Police.

It is not in public interest as certain demands as contained in the 1999 Constitution were not met to justify the withdrawal of the case by the Attorney-General.

However, to the shock of lawyers appearing for the Prosecution, when the other case with Charge No. CR/216/2016, came up before Honourable Justice Kekemeke on Thursday, 20 June 2024, a lawyer from the Office of the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Barrister F. N. Umoh, Assistant Chief State Counsel, announced an appearance for the Prosecution and said she had the instruction of the Attorney General to withdraw and discontinue the case.

In the circumstance, Honourable Justice Kekemeke was constrained into making a ruling striking out Charge No. CR/216/2016, and acquitting Benjamin Joseph.

• As aforesaid, though Mr. Joseph got the reprieve he long begged and craved from the Attorney-General, it does not derogate from the judgment of Honourable Justice Senchi which dismissed as false his allegations against Technology Distributions Limited and other persons and held him liable for false information with a N20milliin damages still hanging on his neck.

In effect, Mr. Joseph was not acquitted because he did not provide false information to the Police, he was acquitted on the prerogative of the AGF to apply nolle prosequi in any case he wishes.

*Adamu Sanni is a Public Affairs Analyst

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In 2010, during Professor Attahiru Jega’s time as Chairman of INEC, after Professor Maurice Iwu’s  technology advancement of INEC  operations,  INEC wanted to improve on it but we sincerely had no faith that any Nigerian company had the resources and skill to implement the new Direct Data Capture (DDC) machines being proposed.

Some INEC staff had reluctantly mentioned that Zinox Technologies saved them in 2006 with supply and deployment at short notice when foreign companies failed Nigeria. Time was running out plus the fact that there was delay in the budget.

We had the confidence of some foreign consultants who recommended appropriate equipment and sources to choose from, we were almost concluding when Prof Jega suggested that we give few qualified  local companies a chance to come and make presentation so that we are fair to both local and foreign companies because of his democratic nature, few of us reluctantly agreed. Zinox was invited with few others.

Zinox Chairman, Leo Stan Ekeh, came to INEC with his Management and made a great presentation. What shocked INEC staff was that Ekeh came in a Toyota Corolla, and we started joking among ourselves, wondering if the guy that came in a Corolla car is the one to handle such mega project with a budget of about $270 million.

But one of the Commissioners, Dr. Nuru Yakubu, who was more tech amongst us, said the man has been a leader in IT business, but did not know his financial capacity for a contract this huge.

Next visit to INEC, Ekeh still arrived just as simple and in the same Corolla car, and we were a little bit confused. But having seen his presentation which was very convincing and compelling, they reluctantly supported Zinox to compete with two other foreign companies we thought were giants because INEC had lost a lot of time.

Initially, the foreign consultant recommended Haier Electrical Appliances Corp Ltd, a Chinese company supported by the Chinese government, and Avante International Technology Inc (US company), so they went for the two, but at the last minute, INEC decided to have a Nigerian company to handle part of the job. This was a big fight that was almost destroying the image of the Commissioners and Jega for deciding to incorporate local content.

Jega said they should give everyone a chance. What shocked them was that Zinox beat everyone technically in the first bid, and by the rule of due process, if you fail technically, they won’t open your financial bid, but because they were losing time, they opened everyone’s bid.

Zinox decided to file a petition because the HP printer that was part of the configuration was about $452 in the marketplace, but the Chinese company quoted $59.

We had to go back to the National Assembly for some clarifications. While we were doing this, INEC had to invite the different companies again for clarification and the day Ekeh came with his team they made a presentation after which everything worked and in one minute, they could scan a voter and register him.

INEC invited them that day after going to the National Assembly to make sure they understood the configurations of the equipment, and announced the cancellation of the first bid.

This time, the Zinox man came with the Bible but did not swear with it. He placed his hands on the Bible and said he is aware that they feel they have no capacity to deliver the job and that he is placing his hand on the Bible to commit that they have the financial and technical capacity to deliver the project successfully and that there is no other company that can do it in Nigeria, including the Chinese.

That, somehow, offended the INEC team except one of us, a retired Army Colonel, and we wondered how a man can say his company is the only company in the country that has the capacity to do the job within the given period. He told us that he wasn’t as poor as they thought and should not see his humility as stupidity.

While they were escorting him out to receive the Chinese team, INEC staff were shocked to see the Chinese team, upon sighting Ekeh and his team, say it was Zinox that understood the project.

The Chinese made their presentation but it took longer time than Zinox’s, but what was shocking to them was four days later, Zinox sent to the Commission an agreement signed between Zinox and Haier indicating that Haier was paying Zinox $1.6 million as a consultant to cooperate  with them and that legal agreement was also forwarded to Due Process Office that was chaired then by Mr. Emeka Ezeh.

They had to call for a re-bid because Zinox won the first one, but because of fear or lack of confidence they gave the other people more. What INEC chairman wanted was proper execution and at that point it was clear that Zinox understood the project, having saved INEC in 2006.

But what was shocking to us was each time we invited the Chinese company and the American company for a meeting they will say they’re waiting for the Chairman and the chairman they’re waiting for is the Zinox Chairman.

The second bid happened. Zinox won and INEC had to award Zinox 70 percent and the Chinese company 22 percent.

But what was surprising to us was that the day we signed the contract with Zinox in Prof Jega’s office, INEC team wanted to take photograph with Chief Ekeh but he told Jega that he won’t take a picture with them until he has executed the job.

For a contract they signed at about 2pm, with instruction that Zinox should provide a bank guarantee of N10 billion, they were shocked when the following morning  at about 10am Zinox came up with the bank guarantee, and they thought it was fake.

When the Finance Head brought the Advance Bank Guarantee (ABG) issued by Access Bank, we all said he should hold it and first confirm it from the Central Bank. So, he went to the CBN with the chairman of Zinox and met with the Deputy Governor and after reading it, he confirmed it was genuine. When the Head of Finance returned to INEC office and confirmed it was genuine, we all told him to put that in writing and take responsibility, we all photocopied his letter and kept in our various files and finally authorized the payment of a huge amount to Zinox.

Later, INEC team travelled to China to inspect the Zinox pre-assembling plant to make sure that they’re not wasting their time because registration will soon commence.

The Chairman of Zinox was already in China. When INEC team got there, Ekeh showed them and the Nigeria High Commissioner’s representatives who were with them round the factory that had over 1500 Chinese working. They were impressed, but what shocked them was that as they were about to go, Ekeh used a remote control to open another department and that was Haier pre-assembling plant. The plant we later learnt was a partnership between Zinox and a Taiwan company.

We didn’t know that Zinox was also producing for Haier. The whole contract was to supply 132,000 DDC machines but because Zinox was able to build confidence, Zinox got the highest number to supply 80,000 units which included HP Printers, Biometric Scanners, Ink cartridges and other 33 items per box, while Haier got 30,000 units and Avante 22,000 units.

Zinox consciously had to undertake the entire project for everyone because the others didn’t have branches, human capital here in Nigeria and they didn’t understand the country.

When we were being economical to save money, the Chairman of Zinox told us that the three cartridges that we apportioned per printer to print out people’s ID card will not be enough based on data available to him and that it was harmattan season as Inks dry faster during harmattan, but we shouted him down that he wanted to exhaust INEC financially, we were very tight with our budget. A week after Voters registration started, our centres ran out of Ink cartridges and there was pressure from every registration unit to supply them Ink cartridges but it was not available.

We started sourcing and all contractors that promised disappointed, we lost days and we were now desperate and in a meeting that evening one of us suggested we try Zinox.

We reluctantly called the Chairman, he said they could give us some quantities as intervention stock, but for the large quantity we wanted, they will supply in 3days, but we must pay for the volume in cash, no credit.

On the evening of the third day, we prompted Zinox Chairman, and he assured we shall receive the next morning as 4 trucks loaded with Ink cartridges were enroute to Abuja and we should visit his Abuja office at Wuse2 to inspect but restated that we must pay cash.

We visited his office the next morning and saw the four 30-ton trucks fully loaded and one us insisted we offloaded one to confirm all were Ink cartridges, we did and confirmed.

We later heard, that HP consolidated the ink cartridges at Zinox warehouse in the UK close to Heathrow Airport in London and immediately we okayed, he chartered two Boeing 737 cargo flights to bring them in.

One of his staff told us that Mr. Ekeh was sure INEC must request for them and he took inventory risk of HP global stock and this created global shortage for that specific Ink. We paid N2500 more per unit but Zinox saved us. It was like a miracle as we were unable to reconcile what happened.

We now trusted Zinox and innocently ignored the existence of other companies. Zinox staff had a large heart to assist their competitors. Like the Chairman of Zinox once said, if Zinox succeeded 100% and any of their competitors dropped the ball, the project has failed and they have all failed.

Same story happened when we were procuring 600 units of DELL Servers. At the end, it was Zinox that rescued us and did the integration and deployed in 36 states plus Abuja for all contractors. A lot of us were particularly concerned earlier in the project. We appreciated their capacity to assist their competitors without complaining and their ethical standard.

Their leadership was hand- on and their Call Centre was critical in monitoring challenges and briefing us. Mr. Ekeh was a great resource at our point of need, it was later someone told us that he had all sort of cars including Rolls Royces but preferred Toyota Corolla for his official engagement and was always very comfortable with it.

I am aware Zinox experienced same at National Population Commission (NPC) during the bid for the supply of critical equipment for the Census.  I had experienced this company to have the confidence in a chat with my very close Cousin who is one of the Commissioners at NPC. He was not in support of a local company because of a budget of over N149 billion dedicated for equipment procurement.

He told me the budget was huge and the equipment complicated for a local company to undertake. While agreeing with me that Mr. Ekeh had visited their office and made good technical presentation acceptable to the United Nations representative, but they will be safer awarding it through UN. 

He also commented that a lot of their Management staff and Commissioners did not support a local company because of capacity to deliver within the short period before end of President Buhari’s tenure in May.

I assured him Zinox shall fight their way through based on technical competences and deliver better than any foreign company and I warned him not to underrate Mr. Ekeh because of his humility. I read a lot of media blackmail on Zinox and the person of Mr. Ekeh on a daily basis during the period to discourage FG and NPC from considering Zinox for the award and this stopped immediately my Cousin told me the contract has been awarded, a confirmation that the media attack was a clear hatchet job.

I assured him that from what I knew about Mr. Ekeh, he focuses on the target and is never distracted but could be tough at point of decision.

I was happy one evening in March when he called me to say, this company Zinox is something else and confirmed full delivery to all locations nationwide and that everyone at NPC including the Chairman was excited. He concluded by saying Zinox is a blessing to NPC.

He made my evening.

I decided to tell this story which I consider a great case study before I die. It was a personal experience to a lot of us and meant to encourage the informed youths that you may need to fight decently to get your share of this economy, and also to our new government to look inward and use our good corporates to make the economy better. Nigeria cannot be surrendered to other nations. Let’s have a sincere rethink and save our country.

The post The Day Zinox Chairman, Ekeh, Stormed INEC with Bible appeared first on Tech | Business | Economy.

The order was communicated via a letter dated 6th June from the office of the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami to the Inspector General of Police, Usman Baba and communicated to the courts by the IGP on 26th September 2022.

This was confirmed in a statement by Matthew Burkaa, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN).

According to the statement, Joseph has a previous court judgment of N20m as damages awarded against him by an FCT High Court Abuja, for giving the Federal Government false information after accusing Ekeh of fraudulently converting a contract awarded to his firm by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) in 2012.

Furthermore, the statement revealed that Joseph is facing another criminal charge for false petitioning before Honourable Justice Peter Kekemeke of the High Court of the FCT, Abuja.

The SAN, who disclosed that this clarification is necessary in informing the public to disregard the various sponsored media reports being circulated online and on social media by Joseph against the Zinox Chairman, also stated that every available legal means will be employed to address the libelous contents in the referenced publications and seek for appropriate remedies and damages, where necessary.

The statement reads in part: ‘‘We act for Mr. Leo Stan Ekeh, Technology Distributions Limited (TD) and its staff Chioma Ekeh, Chris Eze Ozims, Oyebode Folashade and Charles Adigwe (hereinafter referred to collectively or individually as “Our Clients”).

‘‘Our Clients have drawn our attention to several online publications, containing some false, distorted and damaging contents in the SAHARA REPORTERS of October 2, 2022 titled: ZINOX GROUP CHAIRMAN, WIFE, 11 OTHERS FACE TRIAL IN NIGERIAN COURT OVER ALLEGED N170M CONTRACT FRAUD NINE YEARS AFTER. A Similar story with the same content was published in OPERA NEWS on 29^th September, 2022, and in the NATIONAL WAVES on 29^th September 2022 titled: LEO STAN EKEH’S ALLEGED N170.3M FRAUD SCANDAL RESURFACES; and also in THE NEWS MATRICS (Online News Paper Publication) published on the 30^th September 2022 titled: FG TO PROSECUTE ZINOX BOSS, EKEH, WIFE OVER ALLEGED N170.3M FRAUD.

THE WITNESS (online newspaper) of September 29, 2022, also carried the story. Copies of these online publications have gone viral on social media and have been read globally by different persons and diverse groups, who have been worried by the content of the publication and have continued to bombard our Clients with calls expressing their utter shock and consternation at the content of the publications.

‘‘First of all, of great concern, is how a straightforward business transaction between two corporate entities, Technology Distributions Limited (TD) and Citadel Oracle Concepts Limited has been skewed in a manner to give the erroneous impression that a personal business was transacted by individuals, to wit: Mr. Leo Stan Ekeh, his wife and his named staff with one Mr. Benjamin Joseph. Such personalisation (as carried by the publications) was apparently to achieve an ulterior motive to blackmail, drag, embarrass, and bring down the persons so named in the publication, while the author of the publications appears as a victim and continues to bask in a vain glory.’’

Specifically, Burkaa disclosed that reports of investigation reports by various authorities including the Nigerian Police Force, Special Fraud Unit (SFU) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) reveal that Mr. Ekeh and Zinox Technologies Limited are not connected in any way to the allegations that formed the basis of the said libellous publications.

‘‘In fact, in all the investigations by the Nigerian Police and the EFCC, Mr Leo Stan Ekeh, Technology Distributions Limited (TD) and its staff, Mrs. Chioma Ekeh, Mr. Chris Eze Ozims, Mrs. Folashade Oyebode, and Mr. Charles Adigwe have been formally and severally vindicated and absolved of any wrong-doing as the entire allegations were found to be false. On the contrary, the mastermind of all the allegations, a certain Mr. Benjamin Joseph, is presently standing trial in Court for forwarding false allegations via a Petition containing the very allegations that formed the basis of the referenced publications to the Federal Government of Nigeria. That Charge is still pending in Court.’’

Also, he held that neither Mr. Ekeh nor the other persons mentioned in the articles had been served with any charge by the law firm of FALANA & FALANA, as falsely claimed, adding that they only read of the existence of the charge in the media. Burkaa, who condemned the development, described it as going against all known ethics of the administration of justice in Nigeria, especially as the said charge has been widely circulated on print and electronic media with all its details and the full names of persons mentioned along with the charge number.

In addition, he stated that the FG has filed a formal charge against Benjamin Joseph for submitting a false petition against Mr. Ekeh, his wife, Mrs. Chioma Ekeh and other persons mentioned in the articles, while noting that the same falsehood has now been reported in those media publications as the content of the charge against them.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

Burkaa noted that: ‘‘The Criminal Charge will be coming up before His Lordship, the Hon. Justice U.P. Kekemeke of the FCT, High Court, Abuja on the 3^rd day of November, 2022 for the defence of Mr. Benjamin Joseph whose “No Case Submission” had been dismissed by the Court, indicating that he has a case to answer. The Federal Government has also written letters through the Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation (DPPF) and the Nigerian Police Force for the continuation of the said prosecution. The letters are dated 6^th of June, 2022 and 26^th September, 2022.

‘‘It is therefore appalling to our Clients to read, via the above publications, that a Charge had been filed against them by a private law firm associated with Mr. Benjamin Joseph because, they (our Clients) had by a letter dated 19^th November, 2018 drawn the attention of the Honourable, the Attorney General of the Federation to the fact that, it was apparent that the Law firm of FALANA &FALANA was acting on the instructions of Mr. Benjamin Joseph, the MD of Citadel Oracle Concepts Limited, who is the Defendant standing trial in Charge No: CR/216/2016.

‘‘More shocking to our Clients is the fact that the Nominal Complainant (Benjamin Joseph) in Charge No: FCT/HC/CR/469/2022 which formed the basis of the above online publications, is the Defendant in Charge No: CR/216/2016 and the subject matter in Charge No: FCT/HC/CR/469/2022 is the very basis for the prosecution of Mr. Benjamin Joseph in Charge No: CR/216/2016.

‘‘It is also imperative to point out that the High Court of the FCT, Per D.Z Senchi J. (as he then was) in Charge No: FCT/HC/CR/244/2018 dismissed as “false petitioning” the very allegations forming the basis of the new charges filed by FALANA & FALANA’S Chambers, and indicted the said Benjamin Joseph for forwarding false information to the Nigerian Police. The court went ahead to slam a fine of N20million against him for writing a Petition containing falsehood against our Clients and to serve as a deterrent to others who might want to mislead security agencies by forwarding false complaints against innocent Nigerians. The said Judgment is dated the 24^th day of February, 2021. In fact, Chioma Ekeh and Chris Eze Ozims, who are also supposedly charged in the referred charge, were prosecution witnesses against Benjamin Joseph in the two previously filed charges. So, the present Charge includes the very persons who had been discharged and acquitted on the same set of facts and in whose favour there is a subsisting Judgment.’’

Meanwhile, the SAN added that copies of all the documents mentioned above (including the Judgement, Reports, and letters) are available for verification as they are in various courts’ records, having been tendered in proceedings.

The ongoing saga relates to a 2012 Credit Sales of HP Laptops to Citadel Oracle Concepts Limited on an interest-free credit facility when they could not fund the contract awarded to them by FIRS to supply laptops, along with twelve other companies. After FIRS paid all suppliers who were funded by Technology Distribution (TD), the other companies paid TD the pre-agreed invoice value.

But Mr. Benjamin Joseph, the MD of Citadel, tried to divert TD’s fund but his partner Princess Kama resisted that move. After TD was paid, a dispute arose between Benjamin Joseph and his partner, Princess Kama, on profit sharing. At a point, Chief Afe Babalola, SAN who was Counsel to Benjamin Joseph, tried to intervene and cause an amicable settlement of the profit-sharing dispute. But Benjamin Joseph wanted the entire money without paying TD. It was at this point that he changed the story and contended that he was not aware of the contract and that his company was used to defraud FIRS. However, during investigation by Nigerian Police and EFCC, the FIRS provided proof that Benjamin Joseph was indeed aware of the contract and that all the ordered computers were fully supplied and received by the FIRS.  

In addition, Mr. Benjamin Joseph again reported the matter to the Special Fraud Unit (SFU) of the Nigerian Police Force, Milverton Road, Ikoyi. The SFU conducted investigations and indicted him on the basis that a forensic analysis report showed that he signed the board resolution which he alleged was forged. He thereafter lodged another petition to the Police Headquarters, Abuja, and after a thorough investigation, it was found again that his allegations were false. It was on the basis of that finding that he was charged to court in 2016 in Charge No: CR/216/2016 (IGP vs. Benjamin Joseph) for giving false information. That Charge is presently pending before Honourable Justice Peter Kekemeke of the High Court of the FCT, Abuja.

Equally important, the Police (Prosecution) has closed their case since 2018 and Mr. Benjamin Joseph has been called upon by the Court to open his defence. Instead of proceeding with the said defense to conclusion, he has devised different tactics in his bid to sway the Attorney General to discontinue the criminal charge preferred against him. Interestingly, the Law Firm of FALANA & FALANA who filed the present charge had earlier in 2018 applied to the Attorney General of the Federation by a letter dated November 1, 2018, for a Fiat to prosecute our clients. In order to convince the office of the Attorney General, Mr. Joseph submitted some spurious reports said to have been made in 2015 and in 2020 by the Nigerian Police, which his solicitors again used to apply for another Fiat. However, the Nigerian Police Headquarters Abuja, by a comprehensive report dated December 1, 2020, discredited and disclaimed all those “reports” relied upon by Mr. Benjamin Joseph, which was used to convince the Attorney General to grant a Fiat in May 2022.

On this basis and upon a critical review of all documents relating to the case, the office of the Attorney General saw through the falsehood and issued a new letter to the Police dated 6^th June, 2022 directing the Police to continue the prosecution of Benjamin Joseph and bring the criminal charge against him to a logical conclusion. This letter was brought to the attention of the Court by Counsel to the Nigerian Police through their letter dated 26^th September, 2022.

Burkaa added: ‘‘Mr. Benjamin Joseph and his Legal Team were in Court on 27th September, 2022 and were aware of this directive by the office of the Attorney General. It is therefore appalling that the referenced publications inundated the Press two days after that Court Proceedings with screaming headlines without stating the correct facts for the benefit of the general public.’’

While noting that the publications against the Zinox Chairman were made in bad faith, the SAN contended that they contained false, distorted and slanted narrative to mislead the public, while also stating that they equally contained half-truth carefully skewed to malign and embarrass Mr. Ekeh and hurt his business interests.

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