Femi Falana gets fiat to prosecute Zinox chairman Stan Ekeh for alleged procurement fraud
Nigeria’s Attorney General, Lateef Fagbemi has authorized senior lawyer Femi Falana to prosecute Leonard Stanley Ekeh, the chairman of Zinox Group, along with his wife Chioma and several others for alleged procurement fraud.
It was claimed that they fraudulently hijacked a government contract, embezzling over N162 million.
This directive revives a case that had been stalled for years after Fagbemi’s predecessor, Abubakar Malami, initially granted a similar fiat to Falana but later withdrew it under a nolle prosequi, effectively halting the case and allowing the supposed government swindlers to walk free.
“Lateef Olasunkanmi Fagbemi, SAN, Honourable Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, hereby authorise Mr Femi Falana of Falana & Falana & Co. of 22 Mediterranean Street, Imani Estate, Abuja- FCT, Nigeria to exercise the powers on my behalf,” reads the letter of authorisation sent to Mr Falana on December 20.
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“You are to also ensure diligent prosecution and consistent update on the progress report of the case to my office without let or hindrance,” the letter added.
Ekeh was said to have stolen a contract to supply computers to the Federal Inland Revenue Service’s headquarters, which was awarded to Citadel Oracle Concept Limited in 2012.
Ekeh of Zinox Group supposedly opened a new bank account in the name of Citadel Oracle, forging the signature of Citadel CEO Benjamin Joseph to claim the contract’s funds.
Joseph reported the fraud to the police under then-inspector general of police Solomon Arase, but the police acted sluggishly and did not take any decisive action regarding his complaint, according to his account of the matter.
He accused the police of colluding with Mr Ekeh to sweep the matter under the carpet, given that the Zinox boss was highly influential. The Citadel chief petitioned the police for frustrating his attempts to get justice over the stolen contract.
In a controversial twist, instead of investigating the allegations, the police charged Joseph with filing a false petition against the IGP. This charge, filed on June 16, 2016, just days before Arase’s retirement, effectively turned the whistleblower into the accused.
The police listed Ekeh and other suspects in the stolen contract case as prosecution witnesses against the Citadel CEO.
The police case against Joseph dragged on for over five years while investigations into the alleged contract fraud remained stalled.
It was not until AGF Malami intervened that little progress was made, although he later rescinded his directive to prosecute the Zinox chairman without explanation.
But with the fresh authorisation from the incumbent AGF, Falana now has the government’s go-ahead to prosecute Mr Ekeh, Chioma Ekeh and other individuals implicated in the alleged fraud.
The co-accused include Chris Eze Ozims, Folashade Oyebode, Princess Kama, Chief Onny Igbokwe, Charles Adigwe, and Osilo Oruoha.
The Zinox chairman issued a statement in 2022 to deny stealing any contract from Citadel Oracle Limited. He claimed that investigations conducted by the police and EFCC “vindicated” his staff and company of wrongdoing.
