For the second time, the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice has withdrawn the fiat granted to Femi Falana SAN, which had authorized him to prosecute a case against Mr. Leo Stan Ekeh, Chairman of Zinox Technologies, and 12 others.
This protracted case stems from a transaction that occurred approximately 13 years ago involving Citadel Oracle Concept Limited, an Ibadan-based computer company owned by Mr. Benjamin Joseph, an indigene of Enugu State.
The transaction in question was with Technology Distributions Limited for the supply of computers to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS). Technology Distributions fully extended credit to Citadel for the project, which had no connection whatsoever to Zinox or its promoter, Mr. Leo Stan Ekeh.
In a recent development, the current AGF, Mr. Lateef Fagbemi SAN, issued a directive in a letter dated 2nd May 2025, addressed to The Principal Partner of Falana and Falana Chambers.
Signed by Mr. M. B. Abubakar, Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, the letter instructed Falana to withdraw Charge No: FCT/HC/CR/985/2024 (FRN v. Leo Stan Ekeh and 12 others), stating it was “in the interest of justice.” The AGF concluded that the fiat should not have been issued in the first place.
The letter, titled ‘Withdrawal of Authorization Under Section 174 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 as Amended,’ stated:
“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 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, as amended and section 106 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015, has withdrawn the fiat earlier granted to you dated 20th December 2023 to prosecute the case mentioned below at the expense of the nominal complainant Mr. Joseph Benjamin: FRG V. Chris Eze Ozims and 6 others, Charge No: CR/827/2013.
“You are, accordingly, requested to withdraw Charge No: FCT/HC/CR/985/2024 between FRN v. Leo Stan Ekeh and 12 others in the interest of justice.”
The message of the withdrawal was also formally communicated to the law firm of Matthew Burkka & Co., representing the defendants, through a letter dated 6th May 2025. That letter read in part:
“You may wish to refer to the above-mentioned subject matter and be informed that the office of the Honourable Attorney General of the Federation is in receipt of your letters dated 24th December 2024, 27th March 2025 and 10th April 2025 respectively, requesting for the withdrawal of the fiat donated to Messrs. Femi Falana SAN dated 20th December 2023.
“I am to inform you that after a consideration of your request, the facts and circumstances of the case, the Honourable Attorney General of the Federation has withdrawn the fiat donated to Messrs. Femi Falana SAN, dated 20th December 2023 vide a letter dated 2nd May, 2025.”
It is worth noting that a similar fiat granted to Femi Falana SAN was withdrawn earlier by the former AGF, Mr. Abubakar Malami SAN, in a letter dated 28th October 2022. That fiat had been issued upon Falana’s request, but was later rescinded due to the same set of facts and allegations. Following the withdrawal, the charges filed by Falana were struck out by two judges of the FCT High Court, Abuja—Justice Christopher O. Oba and Justice Ade S. Adepoju.
Despite this, following the appointment of the new AGF, Falana applied for and obtained another fiat and filed a fresh charge—Charge No: FCT/HC/CR/985/2024—against Mr. Leo Stan Ekeh and the same 12 others. However, after a review of the case by the Ministry of Justice, the AGF concluded that “in the interest of justice,” both the fiat and the charges should be withdrawn.
This case and its related suits have now been dismissed by three different courts. The most recent dismissal occurred on 20th March 2025, when Justice Akpan Okon Ebong of the FCT High Court struck out the case filed by Falana against Mr. Ekeh and the 12 others, citing the recently withdrawn fiat.
The other defendants discharged and acquitted by the court include Mr. Chris Eze Ozims, Oyebode Folashade, Charles Adigwe, Obilo Onuoha, Agartha Ukoha, Anya O. Anya, Femi Dosumu, Nnenna Kalu, Admas Digital Technologies Limited, Technology Distributions Limited, and Zinox Technologies Limited.
The most recent charge—Suit No. FCT/HC/CR/985/24—was filed in November 2024 by Falana on behalf of Mr. Joseph, alleging the diversion of N162,247,513.80, purportedly paid for a laptop supply contract at the FIRS Headquarters. That suit was dismissed by Justice Ebong, who in a certified true copy of the judgment dated 20th March 2025, ruled:
“It is my conclusion based on the foregoing that this charge (No. FCT/HC/CR/985/2024, Federal Republic of Nigeria v Leo Stan Ekeh and 12 ORS) constitutes a gross abuse of court process and is liable to dismissal. I accordingly hereby dismiss it.”
Justice Ebong further noted: “One intriguing aspect of this matter is that none of the law enforcement agencies involved in the investigation of the nominal complainant’s (Mr. Joseph) numerous petitions has found merit in any of his allegations against the defendants. When called upon before Senchi J. (Justice Danlami Z. Senchi) to prove his said allegations to the court, he failed to turn up in court. One then wonders on what premise he wants to maintain this campaign of persecution against the defendants.”
Previous court judgments have confirmed that rather than being perpetrators, Mr. Ekeh and the 12 others were victims of a failed attempt by Mr. Joseph and Citadel to divert funds. This recent attempt by Falana marked the third time charges had been brought on this matter. Mr. Joseph had earlier filed Charge No. CR/469/2022, which was struck out on 8th November 2022 by Justice Christopher O. Oba, who stated:
“Upon hearing the counsel for both the Prosecution and the Defendants in court, the basis for which the law firm of Femi Falana filed the present charge is the authority gotten from the Attorney General of the Federation. The said authority has been withdrawn, there is legally no basis for the present charge before this court. Therefore, this charge is hereby struck out.”
Undeterred, Mr. Joseph filed the same charges before Justice Ade S. Adepoju, who again struck them out on 19th March 2024, declaring: “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.”
In his 2013 petition to the police, Mr. Joseph was found to have provided false information, prompting the Inspector General of Police to charge him for false information under Charge No. CR/216/16.
Additionally, in another suit filed at the instance of Mr. Joseph by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) against his business partner, Princess Kama, Charge No. FCT/HC/CR/244/2018, Justice Danlami Z. Senchi dismissed the allegations as false and awarded N20 million in damages against Mr. Joseph for false petitioning concerning the same set of claims.
