General News
Falana/Citadel vs Zinox: FIRS Document Shows Benjamin Joseph Lied under Oath

As the case between Citadel Oracle Concept Limited and Zinox Technologies returns to court, a document from the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has put a lie to the claim under oath by Benjamin Joseph, CEO of Citadel, that he was not aware of the contract executed by his company at FIRS.
It will be recalled that Joseph, in his statement on oath in suit No: LD/4335/2014 in the High Court of Justice, Lagos State, dated 28th June, 2019, averred that his company, Citadel, did not execute any contract with FIRS and that he was not aware that a contract had been awarded to Citadel.
In his deposition under oath, Joseph claimed that Citadel “did not at any time execute any contract for the FIRS and neither did the 2nd defendant (Princess O. Kama) who is its agent in respect of the contract it bid for with the FIRS deliver/release any documents to the Claimant (Citadel) indicating that the contract it bid for, or any other contract was awarded to it by the FIRS or any other body.”
However, a letter from the FIRS addressed to the chamber of Afe Babalola & Co dated 11th February 2014 (FIRS/PD/GDS/2559) and signed by one Idrissa Kogo, Head Legal Department, stated: “Contrary to your client’s claim that they knew nothing about the execution of the contract awarded to them and that they did not receive any payment for the execution of the contract, our record reveals otherwise.
“Your client instructed FIRS through a letter dated 13th December 2012 to deal with Princess O. Kama (Your client’s agent) in relation to the contract. Through three separate letters dated 20th December 2012, your client instructed FIRS to pay to the client’s account with Access Bank plc.
“Please note that FIRS acted in compliance with your client’s instruction and with due diligence,” the FIRS letter stated.
The FIRS letter was a response to inquiry by Afe Babalola Chamber, lawyers to Citadel Oracle Concept Ltd and its MD, Mr. Benjamin Joseph, at that time.
Spokesman for Zinox, Mr. Chimezie Orisakwe, when contacted, confirmed the letter, stressing that the document from FIRS was actually in response to inquiries by the chamber of Afe Babalola SAN, who was Joseph’s first lawyer.
“Mr. Joseph had been presenting the story in a manner that portrays him as the victim in a business relationship, but it was apparent that he did not give full disclosure to the chamber of Afe Babalola, who had to write the FIRS to get a proper brief on the matter.
“I want to believe that the disclosure from FIRS which rubbished all the depositions of Joseph and exposed him as a perjurer must have informed the withdrawal of the highly respected Afe Babalola from the case. Interestingly, this letter has already been filed in Suit No. LD/4335/2014, the civil case at the Lagos State High Court.
“More curious is that Mr. Benjamin Joseph, in his Witness Statement on Oath in the said civil case, admitted that he gave the corporate documents of Citadel Oracle Concept Ltd and a letter of authorisation to Princess Kama, his staff, dated 13th December 2012, in respect of the FIRS contract.
“This, therefore, contradicts his present claim that his corporate documents were forged to open the bank account”, Mr. Orisakwe added.
The Zinox spokesman expressed shock that Femi Falana would include Zinox in his purported fiat/charges, even when the company has nothing to do with the transaction or allegations.
He said: “Zinox has never been invited by any investigative agency, including the police and the EFCC, on the so-called allegations.
“There is no report either by the police or the EFCC or any investigative agency where the name of Zinox was mentioned as a suspect.
“There is no judgment or ruling of any court where Zinox was mentioned as having anything to do, whatsoever, with the transaction or the allegations, the basis of the fiat/charges.
“Mr. Leo Stan Ekeh, the Chairman of Zinox, has never made any statement to the police in the course of any investigations and has never been mentioned in any court proceedings or judgment as part of any investigations relating to these allegations.”
Orisakwe cited instances in which Mr. Joseph lost the case and its allied suits. In a petition/case Mr. Joseph reported since 2013 and for which the Inspector General of Police charged him for false information in charge no.CR/216/16, the Zinox spokesman said Mr. Joseph was unable to prove his case.
He recalled that in another case filed by the EFCC at his instance against his partner, Princess O. Kama, in charge no. FCT/HC/CR/244/2018, Honorable Justice Danlami Z. Senchi of the FCT High Court (as he then was), dismissed as false all the allegations made by Benjamin Joseph, and imposed the sum of N20 million as damages against him for false petitioning in relation to these same allegations.
The Zinox spokesman alleged that the current charges said to have been filed by Falana on the basis of a fiat from the Attorney General is the third in a row as he had earlier filed charge no.CR/469/2022, which was struck out by Honourable Justice C. O. Oba of the FCT High Court, by an order dated 8th November 2022.
“He filed the same charges before Honorable Justice A. S. Adepoju of the FCT High Court, and the charges were, once more, struck out by the Honourable Court on 19th March 2024, with Honorable Justice Adepoju holding that: ‘This matter was brought in dead, extinct and should be confined into the dustbin of history…I hold that the instant suit is an abuse of the process of court and it is hereby struck out accordingly,’ Orisakwe said.
He expressed shock that a “learned Senior Advocate in the person of Femi Falana, would, yet, proceed to file the same charges before Honourable Justice A. O. Ebong of the FCT High Court in charge no. FCT/HC/CR/985/24 in November 2024.”
According to the Zinox spokesman, “It is very clear that the deliberate intention for instituting this new charge by Femi Falana SAN, to include the name of Zinox and its Chairman and other persons who were never part of the investigations, is to embarrass them, harm their reputation, and thereby damage their businesses.”
Meanwhile, when the case came up on 9th January 2025, the lawyers to Zinox and Technology Distributions filed Preliminary Objections boldly challenging the jurisdiction of the court over the case and the appearance of Falana, on the ground that the purported Fiat was legally wrongful and defective, and ought not to have been granted to Mr. Femi Falana SAN, in the first place.
This, thus, robs the court of jurisdiction because the case is brought on the basis of the Fiat, and if it is shown that the Fiat is defective and invalid, the court cannot exercise its jurisdiction over the case.
In the light of this development, Mr. Falana asked the court for an adjournment to enable him respond to the Preliminary Objections. The court consequently adjourned the case to 3rd March 2025, to hear the Preliminary Objections and any other pending application.
From a legal perspective, the issue of jurisdiction must first be determined by the court before any other step can be taken in the case, including the plea of the defendants.
This was the reason for the absence of the defendants in court on the said 3rd March 2025, especially as the individual defendants were yet to be served the court papers.
General News
FG Targets $30Bn through Raw Materials Digital Platform

Chief Uche Nnaji, the Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, said the Nigeria Raw Materials Management Information System (RMMIS) and Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC) will attract $30 billion in investments over the next decade.
Chief Nnaji made this known in Abuja while unveiling the data application, saying the system will empower industries, reduce unemployment, and create opportunities across various value chains.
The minister added that the initiative can increase semi-processed mineral exports to $9 billion by 2030 and strengthen research and development in the country, if properly aligned with national industrial policies
“It will also Attract investors, potentially bringing in $30 billion in investments over the next decade through efficient resource management; and finally, it will Strengthen research and development, helping scientists and industrialists explore new product innovations and optimize material use.”
“The RMMIS is a national digital repository of real-time, accurate, and accessible data on Nigeria’s raw materials. This platform will Empower manufacturers with reliable data for local sourcing, reducing import reliance and boosting domestic production” Nnaji explained.
He further added that with accurate data, the agriculture, mining, and manufacturing sectors can maximize raw material use, fostering job creation and boosting investments by $20 billion in the next decade.
“This will conserve foreign exchange reserves, potentially saving $10 billion annually while strengthening the naira” he added
The minister explained that successful implementation of RMMIS requires collective effort urging government agencies, researchers, private sector players, and development partners to actively engage, contribute data, and utilize insights to maximize the system’s impact.
In his presentation, the key note speaker and minister of trade and investment, Senator John Owan Enoh said that data is critical for Nigeria’s economic development.
He added that there is nothing that attracts investors like adequate data, stressing that the raw materials research and development council will continue to fuel industrialisation in the country and beyond with adequate data of raw materials.
Sen. Enoh therefore pledged the commitment of the trade and investment industry in the achievement of the set goal.
On his part, the Director General of the Raw Materials Research and Development Council, RMRDC, Professor Nnanyelugo Martin Ike-Munonso said the Nigeria Raw Materials Management Information System (RMMIS) is the first of its kind in the history RMRDC subsector.
He said it is a robust technology driven decision platform designed to enhance data driven decision making, facilitate research and development in the country.
The DG added that it covers all critical and strategic raw materials comprising agricultural, solid minerals.
“It also contains both technical and investment information and covers more than 17,000 data points based on raw material occurring across every party of the country,” he added.
General News
Africa’s Startup Funding Increased by 240%

Nigeria and other African startups are off to a bright start as funding into the ecosystem rose by 240 percent year-on-year to $289 million in January 2025, compared to the corresponding period of 2024.
In January 2024, African startups raised $85 million. However, this performance in January 2024 made it the second-best January for startup funding since at least 2019, falling behind only the January 2022 period during the peak of the funding boom, according to ‘Africa: The Big Deal,’ a funding tracker.
The funding tracker noted, however, that equity financing dominated the fundraising landscape, accounting for over 90 percent of the total amount raised at $262 million, which is a leap from the figure in January 2024. It also marks the second-highest January for equity fundraising in the past six years.
Africa: The Big Deal noted that the four largest deals in January 2025 came from the big four (Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt, and South Africa), and they accounted for about 60 percent of the total funding raised across the continent.
The Big Deal said, “PowerGen, an energy-focused startup, raised $50m+ to establish a scalable platform for distributed renewable energy solutions across Africa, LemFi (Fintech) secured $53m to further expand into Asia and Europe.
“Naked, an insuretech firm, bagged a $38m Series B to automate and expand its product offering; and Enko Education secured $24m to keep expanding its network of African schools.”
Notably, three of these deals highlight a growing trend of African startups expanding their operations beyond the continent.
Experts believe the performance in January 2025 signals a promising wave of funding in Africa’s startup ecosystem, which faced significant funding challenges in 2023 and 2024. In 2024, African startups only got less than 1 percent of global funding, with $1.5 billion in equity raised.
Davidson Oturu, general partner at Nubia Capital, noted that Nigerian startups have significant opportunities to position themselves better for funding in 2025.
He said, “The funding landscape for African startups is evolving, and 2025 will likely see a mix of challenges and opportunities. Foreign investors will remain significant players, but global economic pressures may lead them to be more cautious and selective. Startups will need to demonstrate strong fundamentals, scalability, and the ability to solve real problems to attract their attention.
General News
MTN Increases Data Prices Amid NCC’s 50% Tariff Hike Approval

MTN, Nigeria’s largest telecommunications operator on Tuesday commenced implementation of the Nigerian Communications Commission’s approved tariff hike by increasing its data prices.
A check by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) using the *312# code on the MTN network showed the revised MTN data prices.
For the monthly plans, MTN 1.8GB now goes for N1,500, replacing the previous 1.5GB plan priced at N1,000; the 15GB plan now costs N6,500, a rise from N4,500.
The 20GB monthly plan has been adjusted to N7,500, up from N5,500, among others.
Text messaging on the network has also increased to N6.00 reflecting the 50 per cent hike, while hike in voice calls rates are yet to be ascertained.
Other mobile operators comprising Airtel, Globacom, and 9mobile are yet to update their data prices as at the time of filing this report.
Some subscribers, who spoke with NAN, said they were surprised by MTN’s haste in implementing the tariff increase.
An Educationist and MTN Subscriber, Mrs Halima Balogun, lamented MTN’s haste in adjusting its tariff.
Balogun said that other networks were yet to implement the hike.
“We, the subscribers, are yet to come to terms with the announcement of proposed hike, only for the increase to be implemented.
“I was about purchasing my 1.5GB at N1000, only to discover that it has been increased to N1,500, this left me stranded because I had planned on spending only N1000.
“It would have been ideal if we were given a week’s notification before the new prices were made public to enable one to be prepared,” she said.
A 200-level Student of University of Lagos, Mr Edoziem Olunwa, described the increased MTN tariff as frustrating.
Olunwa said that the increase was coming at a time when things were becoming increasingly difficult, even as students.
“As a Computer Science student, I was struggling to help myself with the 20GB which was N5,500 but the additional N2000 is like a burden.
“Over the weekend, there was outage on the network, which was addressed but could still be better. These are the things we want the network to address,” he said.
Another Subscriber, Mr Abdulwahab Fatoki, expressed optimism that the increase would herald effective and efficient service.
Fatoki said that from the day the announcement of the proposed tariff hike was made, it was obvious that there was no going back so the best bet was to be prepared.
All the subscribers, however, expressed optimism that with the increment there would also be increased quality of service.
All efforts to speak with MTN officials before filing the report failed.
NAN reports that the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the industry’s regulatory body had approved a maximal increment of 50 per cent tariff adjustments to operators.
The Commission said its approval, though less than the 100 per cent hike demanded by operators, was in response to prevailing operational costs.
It said that its decision was pursuant to its power under Section 108 of the Nigerian Communications Act, 2003 (NCA) to regulate and approve tariff rates and charges by telecommunications operators.
The NCC said that, while recognising the concerns of the public, the decision was made after extensive consultations with key stakeholders across the public and private sectors.
“The NCC recognises the financial pressures faced by Nigerian households and businesses and remains deeply empathetic to the impact of tariff adjustments,’ the NCC said in a statement.
It noted that these adjustments would support the ability of operators to continue investing in infrastructure and innovation, ultimately benefiting consumers through improved services and connectivity.
The NCC added that consumers would benefit from better network quality, enhanced customer service, and greater coverage within the country.
(NAN)
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