For the second time, the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice has withdrawn the prosecution authority (fiat) granted to human rights lawyer Femi Falana, SAN, to pursue criminal charges against Mr. Leo Stan Ekeh, Chairman of Zinox Technologies, and 12 others.
The charges arise from a commercial dispute dating back 13 years between Citadel Oracle Concept Limited, owned by Mr. Benjamin Joseph of Enugu State, and Technology Distributions Limited over the supply of computers to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS). Zinox Technologies and its chairman, Mr. Ekeh, have consistently denied any involvement.
In a letter dated May 2, 2025, the current AGF, Mr. Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, directed Falana to withdraw Charge No. FCT/HC/CR/985/2024 (Federal Republic of Nigeria vs. Leo Stan Ekeh & 12 others), stating that the authorization “ought not to have been granted in the first place.” The letter, signed by the Director of Public Prosecutions, Mr. M.B. Abubakar, cited the move as being “in the interest of justice.”
This follows a previous withdrawal in December 2023 related to a similar charge (FRN vs. Chris Eze Ozims & 6 others). The DPP later confirmed to the defendants’ lawyers that the AGF had reviewed their representations and upheld the decision to withdraw the charges.
This marks the second time such withdrawal has occurred. In October 2022, former AGF Abubakar Malami had revoked a similar fiat, leading to the charges being struck out by two judges of the FCT High Court.
Despite the earlier withdrawals, Falana reapplied and received a fresh fiat under AGF Fagbemi, filing a new charge in November 2024. However, on March 20, 2025, Justice Akpan Okon Ebong struck out the charge, describing it as a “gross abuse of court process.” The judge pointed out that law enforcement agencies had found no merit in the complainant’s petitions, and that Mr. Joseph had repeatedly failed to appear in court to support his claims.
The judge remarked:
“One intriguing aspect of this matter is that none of the law enforcement agencies involved in investigating the nominal complainant’s numerous petitions has found merit in any of his allegations against the defendants… One then wonders on what premise he wants to maintain this campaign of persecution.”
Previous rulings had already established that Mr. Ekeh and the others were victims of a failed scheme allegedly orchestrated by Mr. Joseph and Citadel.
The withdrawn charges named multiple defendants, all previously discharged and acquitted, including Chris Eze Ozims, Oyebode Folashade, Charles Adigwe, and others.
Earlier dismissals by Justice Oba in November 2022 and Justice Adepoju in March 2024 condemned the case as baseless, with one calling it fit “for the dustbin of history.”
Adding to Mr. Joseph’s credibility issues, a 2013 Nigerian Police investigation found he provided false information in his petition, leading to his prosecution. In a related EFCC case against his former partner, Justice Danlami Senchi dismissed Joseph’s claims and awarded damages against him for filing a false petition.
With the second withdrawal of the AGF’s prosecution fiat, this long-standing case appears to have reached a definitive conclusion.
