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FG Orders Withdrawal of Charges Against Ekeh, Zinox Boss, Wife, Others, Insists on Full Prosecution of Alleged Blackmailer, Benjamin Joseph
The Federal Government of Nigeria has ordered the withdrawal of the charges purportedly filed by Femi Falana (SAN) against the Chairman, Zinox Group, Leo Stan Ekeh, his wife and few others based on false information over an alleged N170m contract fraud with the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) which has seen Mr. Benjamin Joseph, owner of Citadel Oracle Concepts Limited, an Ibadan-based ICT retail firm, standing trial for falsely petitioning the Federal Government, alleging that Ekeh and others colluded in defrauding it and his company in executing the contract.
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conferred upon him by section 174(1)(c) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, as amended, has withdrawn the authorization earlier granted to you dated 10th May, 2022 to prosecute the case mentioned below.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 31st 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 8th 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 1st 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.
MENXTT TECH NG, a Lagos-based technology company, has launched an initiative to make quality Dell laptops more affordable for Nigerians through flexible payment plans and extended warranty support.
The company said the initiative was aimed at helping students, entrepreneurs, professionals and small businesses acquire reliable computing devices despite rising technology costs.
According to the company, customers can now purchase premium pre-owned Dell Latitude, Dell Precision and Dell Inspiron laptops at competitive prices, with selected models available under staggered payment arrangements.
The laptops, it said, are designed to meet the needs of users ranging from students and office workers to architects, engineers, software developers, graphic designers and video editors.
Speaking on the initiative, the Co-Founder of MENXTT TECH NG, Mr Anthony Emeka Nwosu, said access to quality technology should not be limited by financial constraints.
“A laptop is no longer a luxury; it is an essential tool for education, business and career development.
“Unfortunately, many people are forced to settle for unreliable devices because of the high cost of new laptops.
“At MENXTT TECH NG, we want to bridge that gap by providing durable Dell business laptops at affordable prices, backed by a full one-year warranty and flexible payment plans.
“We want every student, entrepreneur, freelancer and business owner to have access to technology that helps them succeed,” he said.
Nwosu explained that every laptop undergoes comprehensive testing before delivery and comes with a one-year warranty, an original charger, a complimentary laptop bag, Windows 11 operating system and Microsoft Office Suite pre-installed.
He added that the company, an authorised Bitdefender Antivirus reseller in Nigeria, also installs genuine Bitdefender security software on every system to protect customers against cyber threats.
According to him, customers requiring additional productivity tools can also have licensed Foxit PDF software installed on their devices.
Nwosu said the flexible payment option was introduced in response to prevailing economic realities, enabling customers to spread payments over an agreed period.
He noted that the arrangement would make it easier for students, startups and growing businesses to acquire quality computers without placing excessive pressure on their finances.
Beyond laptop sales, the company provides information technology consultancy, computer repairs, software licensing, cybersecurity solutions and digital transformation services to organisations across Nigeria.
He reaffirmed the company’s commitment to supporting Nigeria’s digital economy by making dependable computing devices and enterprise technology solutions more accessible to individuals and businesses.
According to him, the initiative reflects MENXTT TECH NG’s vision of combining affordability, quality products and professional after-sales support to help more Nigerians participate in the country’s expanding digital ecosystem. (NAN)
National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has called for stronger collaboration among government, industry, academia and technology professionals to accelerate digital innovation and drive inclusive economic growth in Nigeria.
Dr. Aristotle Onumo, Director, Stakeholder Management and Partnerships, representing the Director General of NITDA, delivers a goodwill message at the 20th International Conference on Technology and Computing (RISE 2026) in Jos, reaffirming the Agency’s commitment to fostering digital innovation, strategic collaboration, and a technology-driven future for Nigeria.
The agency made the call at the 20th Nigeria Computer Society (NCS) International Conference 2026, held in Jos, Plateau State, where stakeholders examined strategies for leveraging emerging technologies to strengthen national development.
Speaking on behalf of the Director-General of NITDA, Mr Kashifu Inuwa, the agency’s Director of Stakeholders Management and Partnerships, Dr Aristotle Onumo, said Nigeria’s digital transformation would depend on sustained investment in innovation, digital skills, research and strategic partnerships.
According to him, collaboration across the public and private sectors is essential to translate emerging technologies into practical solutions capable of improving governance, creating jobs and enhancing the country’s global competitiveness.
Onumo said NITDA remained committed to implementing its Strategic Roadmap and Action Plan through initiatives that promote digital literacy, research and development, innovation ecosystems, cyber sovereignty and emerging technologies.
He added that the agency was expanding opportunities for innovators, entrepreneurs and startups through platforms designed to encourage collaboration, investment and technology-driven enterprise.
“We are transforming Digital Nigeria into the nation’s foremost innovation platform where policymakers, investors, startups, researchers and technology companies can collaborate to accelerate economic growth and digital transformation,” he said.
He urged innovators, startup founders and technology professionals to participate actively in the forthcoming Builders Summit by showcasing indigenous solutions capable of addressing Nigeria’s development challenges.
Declaring the conference open, the Governor of Plateau State, Mr Caleb Mutfwang, described digital technology as a critical driver of governance and economic development.
Mutfwang said his administration had adopted digital solutions to improve public service delivery, modernise government operations and enhance internally generated revenue.
He also identified technology as a key enabler for agricultural transformation, increased productivity and improved food security, urging participants to ensure that deliberations at the conference translate into practical outcomes for national development.
Earlier, the President of the Nigeria Computer Society (NCS), Prof. Muhammad Sirajo, said the conference was organised to strengthen collaboration among policymakers, researchers, regulators, technology professionals and industry leaders.
Sirajo said the conference, with the theme “Harnessing Digital Innovation and Emerging Technologies for Inclusive Growth and Economic Renaissance (RISE 2026),” focused on exploring how innovation could accelerate Nigeria’s socio-economic development.
He identified artificial intelligence, blockchain, cloud computing, cybersecurity and robotics as among the technologies shaping the future of economies across the world.
According to him, Nigeria’s youthful population and expanding digital ecosystem provide a strong foundation for building a globally competitive economy through sustained investment in digital infrastructure, innovation and skills development.
The conference attracted government officials, regulators, academics, development partners, technology professionals and private-sector stakeholders to deliberate on policies and innovations aimed at accelerating Nigeria’s digital transformation and inclusive economic renaissance.
Telecom
Hon. Minister Dr. Kingsley T. Udeh and ASUS To Unveil First of a Kind Flagship Store in West Africa
In a landmark moment for Nigeria’s technology retail sector, the Honourable Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Dr Kingsley Tochukwu Udeh SAN, will on Monday, August 3rd, commission a landmark ASUS Flagship Store in partnership with Nigeria’s leading e-commerce group Konga. The state-of-the-art facility is widely regarded as the first initiative of its kind in West Africa.
The commissioning will witness the visit of senior executives from the world-renowned technology brand to Nigeria, including EMEA General Manager, Mr. Aaron Tsai, alongside other. One of the purposes of their visit is to reinforce the strategic partnership with Konga and solidify the collaboration between both organisations, further demonstrating ASUS’ commitment to the Nigerian market.
The event is expected to also bring together key stakeholders from government, the technology industry, business community, and the media for what promises to be a defining moment in the evolution of technology retail in the region.
The development comes as Konga continues to accelerate its strategic partnerships with some of the world’s leading technology brands.
For years, Nigerian consumers have demanded more than just access to genuine technology products. They have increasingly sought immersive experiences, expert guidance, after-sales support, and greater confidence when making technology investments. The next chapter in this journey appears to address many of these expectations in a bold and innovative way.
The forthcoming announcement is expected to bring together global innovation in a manner that reflects the changing realities of today’s technology consumer. It also reinforces the growing confidence that leading international technology companies continue to place in Nigeria as one of Africa’s most strategic digital markets.
Industry analysts note that partnerships of this nature are becoming increasingly important as consumers place greater emphasis on authenticity, hands-on product experiences, technical support, and trusted purchase channels. Beyond selling devices, the future of technology retail lies in building complete customer experiences.
As anticipation builds for Monday, one thing is certain: the ASUS-Konga partnership promises to set new standards for tech retail in West Africa, elevating customer experience and reinforcing Nigeria’s digital transformation narrative.
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