Broadcasting
Femi Falana, SAN: Your Client’s Publication on Zinox Chairman, a Cheap Blackmail
By E. Ezuka
I have followed with interest the case of what appears to be an attempted blackmail by your client, Mr. Benjamin Joseph of Citadel Oracle Concepts Limited, an Ibadan-based ICT retail firm against the Zinox Chairman, Mr. Leo Stan Ekeh, his wife, TD Africa and staff and Access Bank Plc. for some time now as a disinterested observer. However, I was recently moved to take an interest in the case after a lawyer friend of mine went to great lengths to verify from the facts on ground from the respective authorities. Now, I am moved to comment following what I consider an unacceptable media slander to denigrate the character of the Zinox owner.
The only sin Mr. Ekeh’s company committed is extending documented interest-free credit facility to your client when he couldn’t fund an IT supply business which the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) awarded his company and 12 other companies. After the FIRS paid all suppliers funded by Technology Distributions Ltd. (TD Africa), other companies paid TD the invoice sum of the laptops supplied on credit to them as agreed.
However, your client tried to divert TD’s fund.
It is important to state here that your client’s application for credit was initially rejected based on lack of credit history with TD. However, his partner, Princess Kama and her uncle, one Chief Onny Igbokwe, a long-time customer of TD’s, intervened on his behalf.
Therefore, when he tried to hold back remitting the funds for the laptops supplied on credit by TD, his partner, Princess Kama who, handled the transaction on behalf of his company (he issued a letter of authority to Princess Kama as his company’s legal representative and submitted it with a copy of his passport to the FIRS) refused as the credit was guaranteed by Chief Igbokwe. After TD was paid, your client Benjamin Joseph started fighting his partner, Princess Kama, on profit share which lasted two years and was at a point handled by a distinguished lawyer – Chief Afe Babalola – who pleaded with Princess Kama to consider increasing the profit share due to Benjamin Joseph a little bit, but your client wanted all.
It was at this point that your client changed the story that he was not aware of the contract and that his company was used to defraud the FIRS, adding that nothing was supplied to the FIRS. This, I understood, was in order to try and blackmail the owners of TD to extort money from the company. He sponsored some fake press releases against the Zinox Chairman, his wife and Access Bank so that he could have access to Mr. Ekeh. When he visited Lagos from Ibadan to meet Mr. Ekeh on one occasion, the Zinox Chairman refused to see him because he was classified a blackmailer.
Your client had initially reported the case to the Police Special Fraud Unit (SFU) Milverton Road, Ikoyi. The SFU conducted investigations and indicted him on the basis that a forensic analysis report stated that he signed the board resolution which he said was forged. He thereafter lodged another petition to the Police Headquarters, Abuja, who after investigations and confirming that he was lying, charged him to court in 2016 in suit CR/216/2016 (IGP vs. Benjamin Joseph) for false information before Honourable Justice Peter Kekemeke. The Police (Prosecution) has since closed their case since 2018 and your client is supposed to open his defence.
Instead of defending himself, he is running around with your help, to have the Attorney General to discontinue the criminal case against him. My investigation at the Ministry of Justice revealed that your chambers once applied to the AG with a letter dated November 1, 2018, for a Fiat, which you invariably wanted to use to discontinue the criminal proceedings against Benjamin Joseph, so that he would not defend the criminal charges against him. But the AG refused that your 2018 application. Thereafter, your client went to procure some spurious “reports” said to have been made in 2015 and in 2020, which you, again, used to apply for another Fiat.
But my further investigations at the Force Headquarters Abuja shows that the Police have, by a comprehensive report dated December 1, 2020, discredited and disclaimed all those “reports” which your client is parading and with which you tried to get the Honourable AG to grant you a Fiat in May 2022. However, when the AG further reviewed the file and saw through the discrepancies in your application for the Fiat, the AG reversed himself and issued a new letter to the Police dated 6th June 2022, directing the Police to prosecute your client, Benjamin Joseph, to a logical conclusion. For instance, your chambers failed to disclose to the AG that there is a subsisting judgment of the FCT High Court in Suit No. FCT/HC/CR/244/2018, given by Honourable Justice Danlami Senchi on 24th February 2021, against your client to pay N20million as damages for false petitioning and to serve as a deterrent against persons who would give Police or the EFCC false information as your client did. This was following the petition your client made on same set of facts and allegations to the EFCC through the Vice President.
Yet, you are applying for Fiat to prosecute the same persons your client is asked by a subsisting judgment to pay N20million as damages! That same judgment absolved these same persons of all the allegations made by your client.
I would also like to point out that the Federal Government, through the office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Inspector General of Police have instructed the court to prosecute your client, Mr. Benjamin Joseph to logical conclusion, with letters dated 6th June, 2022 and 26th September, 2022 respectively, for false information at the FCT High Court, before Honourable Justice Peter Kekemeke. Yet, the latest release being circulated by your client states that you are filing charges against Mr. Ekeh, Mrs. Ekeh, Chris Eze Ozims, Shade Oyebode and other persons named in the publications. Meanwhile, your client was in court on the 27th of September 2022 and the letter of the AG dated 6th June 2022 and the letter of the IGP dated 26th September 2022, to continue the prosecution of your client were already in the court file. Your client was called upon to give evidence for his defence. He could not defend himself but rather sought an adjournment.
Yet, your client quickly rushed to the press on the 29th (2 days after) to blackmail innocent persons with reckless allegations contained in various online publications. All these acts are capable of making one believe that they are not directed to meet the ends of justice but just to embarrass and humiliate Mr. Ekeh, the Chairman of Zinox, his wife, and his staff.
It is libellous to insinuate that a distinguished tech entrepreneur who has built the largest ICT group on the continent, as well as his wife and few others have been indicted by Police and EFCC. It is all false. The release indicated that the Police SFU and the EFCC indicted Mr. Ekeh, Mrs. Ekeh, Mr. Ozims, Mrs. Oyebode, Mr. Adigwe. Could you please release these reports from the SFU and the EFCC to the public for us to read? I have made enquiries at EFCC and the Police Headquarters to confirm this claim and both confirmed there was no such invitation and indictment. The spurious Police reports which your client is parading were not made by the SFU who investigated the case. Your client rather procured a certain “report” from a Police agency in Abuja, which did not investigate the case and which the Police Headquarters Abuja has disclaimed in their FINAL report dated 1st December 2020 on this matter. Yet, your client is parading these fake and discredited reports. I am sure you know that your client who reported cases has been unable to substantiate and defend the case he reported at the courts till date and is instead begging the Attorney General to withdraw the case. I have taken the pains to give you specific dates of letters and reports and particulars of all the cases, to demonstrates the truthfulness of my findings. Anybody can thus verify them.
For your information, Technology Distributions (TD Africa) which is run by Mrs Chioma Ekeh, a first-rate Mathematician, FCA, MBA is the largest ICT products distribution company in the sub- Saharan Africa and has a revolving credit to ICT vendors of $75m in the last eight years. This was why your client could be extended an interest-free credit to execute the job for which he could not secure a bank loan. Mr. Ekeh and his Board are persons of integrity and please feel free to confirm this from industry players. Yet, he sponsored a publication which states that 12 persons including Access Bank conspired to defraud him of N170m. Are they hungry as to collectively tarnish their integrity with a mere N170m contract?
Indeed, your client owes an apology to Mr. Ekeh, a serial digital entrepreneur and well-known promoter of trust economy and digital democracy, who I consider the main target in this charade. Let me share a few facts. In the last 35 years, he has built the largest ICT group in Africa with companies in four continents without borrowing a kobo or owing any bank for that matter (please check with Nigerian banks). He believes he is a child of trust economy and has succeeded with it. His companies have executed the biggest ICT projects in Africa and some Arab countries and so not desperate to cheat any person. His companies also employ thousands of quality Nigerian staff. He may be extremely humble but not stupid.
Mr. Ekeh enjoys the privilege of being the only African with revenge insurance (please check global database if you are given access). He is humble to a fault and that is why he is tolerating your client. He once told his friend after investigating your client with paid foreign detectives that Mr. Joseph is broke and working as small blackmailer for competitors to some of his companies and that it was a waste of time looking in his direction.
Finally, Mr. Falana, I would like you to ask that if the claim made by your client in that publication are substantiated, please publish the court, Police and EFCC report that indicted Mr. Ekeh, his wife, and all the other names mentioned including Access Bank. If you have this evidence, I shall apologize to you publicly for seeing the publication by your client as a cheap blackmail.
I believe that irrespective of how long it takes, justice will eventually have its way in this long-drawn case.
Yemisi Bamgbose, executive secretary of the Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria (BON), has faulted the decision of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) to review DStv and GOtv subscriptions.
In a statement on Monday, Bamgbose said the commission had remained silent following the increase in prices of goods and services by big firms and companies — but intends to review prices of the pay-tv.
“I would have given FCCPC a thumb up if they had been intervening on price matters, most especially those that have direct bearing on the livelihood of the masses,” Bamgbose said.
“If the mandate of FCCPC includes price control of goods and services in a free and deregulated economy, where was the organisation when Bakers Association in the country increased the cost of a loaf of bread more than 200% in the last one year.
“I doubt if FCCPC was aware that a sachet of pure water has been increased from five naira to twenty naira the last one year. Is the organisation on vacation?
“Perhaps the organisation is on leave when bottling companies in the country astronomically increased the cost of malt and other soft drinks. I was surprised that FCCPC didn’t call stakeholders meeting to review the new prices.
“Perhaps the cost of a bag of cement has not been increased from four thousand Naira in the last one year. That must be the reason why FCCPC did not deem it fit to invite Dangote, Bua and Lafarge cement manufacturers with relevant stakeholders to discuss the more than 100% increase on a bag of cement.
“Aviation sector, on a daily basis, increases the cost of domestic flights. This also has not attracted the attention of FCCPC.
“In the education sector, I was wondering why FCCPC could not call for the review of the cost being charged by private educational institutions especially those charging in dollars in a country where Naira is the legal tender.”
According to Bamgbose, if other services are allowed to increase their prices, MultiChoice should also have the freedom to determine the price of its products to maintain high-quality service.
She added that the choice of whether or not to subscribe to the service should be up to the consumer.
The secretary said subscription television is not an essential commodity and those who cannot afford the services of MultiChoice or any pay TV can decide not to subscribe.
“Anyway, on the part of broadcasting, I want to assume that FCCPC does not know what goes into the business of broadcasting, perhaps, that could inform the decision of the agency to plan the proposed review of the increase in the price of DSTV and GOTv pay TV channels respectively,” she said.
“There are free to air stations such as NTA, RADIO NIGERIA, AIT, SILVERBIRD CHANNELS, STATE OWNED RADIO AND TV STATIONS, PRIVATE RADIO STATIONS etc where consumers don’t pay to listen to radio or watch television.
“There are subscription channels such as MULTICHOICE, GOtv, TNtv, STARTIMES etc where viewers pay to watch and listen. There are choices.
“During Covid-19 pandemic, stations burnt diesel without adverts or other sources of revenue for more than twelve months in national interest.
“The cost of diesel rose from two hundred naira per litre in 2021 to one thousand seven hundred per litre in 2023/24, and broadcast stations have to transmit for twenty four hours changing from one generator to the other.
“None of the national stations such as Channels TV, Arise, TVC, AIT, Silverbird, and NTA, amongst others, commits less than one hundred million Naira on diesel on monthly basis to keep their mandate of information, education and entertainment.
“It may interest the public to know that many, if not all, of the national radio and television stations in Nigeria have not been able to break-even since 2020 when the nation’s economy was shut down as a result to Covid-19 pandemic.
“Why? Each network station that transmits 24 hours consumes not less than twelve thousand litres of diesel per week. In Nigeria, we want everything free.
“For MultiChoice to provide coverage to the nooks and cranies of the country, it maintains over three hundred sites powered with diesel generating sets in each of the sites.
“The public should also know that these PAYTV companies purchase all these contents that subscribers watch at the comfort of their homes and offices.
“Those who can not afford the services of MultiChoice and indeed any pay TV can decide not to subscribe, afterwards, there are many free to air television channels and content on satellites OVER THE TABLE (OTT) that can be accessed through free to air decoders and wifi.”
Recall that on April 24, Multichoice Nigeria announced an increase in the cost of subscriptions for its DStv and GOtv packages.
The pay-tv firm cited the rise in cost of operations as the rationale behind the price increase.
Competition and Consumer Protection Tribunal (CCPT) sitting in Abuja has restrained Multichoice Nigeria, a -TV operator, from implementing the DStv and GOtv subscription prices hike it announced last week
The interim order was sequel to an ex-parte motion filed before the court by Ejiro Awaritoma, counsel to the applicant, Festus Onifade.
The three-member panel of the Competition and Consumer Protection Tribunal, presided over by Saratu Shafii, issued the order on Monday.
Recall that THE management of Multichoice Nigeria Limited last week announced a fresh hike in the prices of subscriptions for its DStv and GOtv packages.
The fresh prices hike came barely four months after the previous fee adjustment.
According to an email sent to customers, the new prices on its DSTV and GOtv packages would take effect on Wednesday, May 1, 2024.
But Onifade. in a suit marked: CCPT/OP/2/2024, had dragged MultiChoice Nigeria Limited and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) before the Competition and Consumer Protection Tribunal
Onifade in the suit filed on April 29 sought “An order of interim injunction of this honourable tribunal restraining the 1st defendant, whether by themselves, her privies, assigns by whatsoever name called from going ahead with impending price increase schedule to take effect from 1st May, 2024, pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice
“An order restraining the 1st defendant from taking any step(s) that may negatively affect the rights of the claimant and other consumers in respect of the suit pending the hearing and determination of the Motion on Notice.”
In its ruling, the court restrained MultiChoice from implementing the announced prices increment, pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice filed before it.
The court ruled that “The 1st defendant is hereby restrained from taking any step(s) that may negatively affect the rights of the claimant and other consumers in respect of the suit pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice.”
The court directed all parties in the suit to appear before it on May 7 at 10am for the hearing and determination of the motion on notice.
The three-member tribunal chaired by Saratu Shafii, delivered the ruling on Monday on an ex-parte motion marked CCPT/OP/2/2024 and filed by Festus Onifade through his lawyer, Ejiro Awaritoma.
Onifade had sued Multi-Choice Nigeria Ltd, and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), accusing the former of unjustly increasing subscription fees.
LG Electronics, a global leader in technology and innovation, is delighted to announce the launch of the highly anticipated K-POP Fiesta contest in Nigeria.
This exciting event offers fans a unique platform to showcase their passion for Korean pop music and dance, while providing an opportunity to engage with fellow enthusiasts from all corners of the country.
The contest will be to four major cities in Nigeria, including Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, and Ibadan. The K-POP Fiesta contest aims to bring the electric energy and vibrant culture of K-POP to Nigeria, a country known for its love of music and dance.
The K-POP Contest invites talented individuals and groups to contest in various categories, including singing, dancing, and performance. As part of its commitment to fostering cultural exchange and embracing diversity
“We are excited to bring the K-POP Contest to Nigeria and provide a platform for talented individuals to shine,” said Mr. Hyoungsub Ji, Managing Director at LG Electronics West Africa.
“By taking the contest to multiple cities, we aim to reach a diverse range of participants and celebrate the rich cultural exchange between Korea and Nigeria. Contestant will have the opportunity to win exciting prizes and recognition for their talent”.
“We are thrilled to bring the K-POP Fiesta contest to Nigeria, a country with a rich musical heritage. This event is a testament to LG’s dedication to providing unique and exciting experiences for our customers. We believe that K-POP has the power to unite people from different backgrounds and create a sense of joy and unity.” Mr. Hyoungsub added
The K-POP Contest tour will kick off in Ibadan on the 2nd and 3rd of May, where fans can experience the electrifying energy of K-POP through dance and singing competitions, and also interactive experiences. From there, the tour will travel to Lagos, Port Harcourt, and Abuja, giving aspiring performers in each location the chance to showcase their talent on a grand stage at the finale which will take place in Lagos sometime in June.
The K-POP Fiesta contest will provide participants with a platform to showcase their talent, creativity, and love for K-POP. Participants will have the opportunity to compete in various categories, including singing, dancing, and even creating their own K-POP-inspired music videos. The contest will be judged by a panel of industry experts, ensuring a fair and unbiased evaluation.
Three winners in music and dance will emerge at the regional contest in these four cities with five hundred thousand naira up for grabs while the winner at the grand finale gets two million naira plus other exciting prizes.
In addition to the contest, attendees will also have the opportunity to experience LG’s latest innovations in entertainment technology. From high-quality sound systems to immersive displays, LG continues to push the boundaries of what’s possible in entertainment and lifestyle.
LG Electronics is committed to supporting and nurturing talent in Nigeria, and the K-POP Fiesta contest is just one of the many initiatives undertaken by the company to empower individuals and encourage artistic expression. By bringing the K-POP phenomenon to Nigeria, LG aims to create a memorable experience for both participants and fans alike.
To participate in the K-POP Fiesta contest, fans can register online at https://www.lg.com/africa/LG-Kpop-Fiesta or Join the conversation on social media (Instagram) using the hashtag #LGKPOPNigeria.
The contest is open to all K-POP enthusiasts in Nigeria, regardless of age or background.
The event had in attendance Management of LG Electronics, Nigeria Video Jockey & TV Presenter, V.J Adams, Akunna Okechukwu, 2021 Nigerian Idol finalist, among others.
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