Agency Report
The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Citadel Oracle Concept Ltd, Mr Benjamin Joseph has insisted that the protracted legal battle between him and the Chairman of Zinox Group, Leo Stan Ekeh, was not borne out of blackmail but real facts and truth.
Mr Joseph claimed that the Zinox boss has been the one resorting to “lies and blackmail” in the alleged N170m contract scam rocking the two entrepreneurs.
Addressing the media in Abuja, on Monday, Joseph said he was compelled to speak out, “following a series of concocted lies and distorted facts sponsored in the media by the Chairman of Zinox Group and his agents”.
Mr Joseph told journalists that Mr Ekeh and Zinox lied by saying that they are not being prosecuted in respect of the contract fraud allegations.
“Another fat lie being bandied about by Mr Ekeh and Zinox is that there is no ongoing prosecution against them by the Attorney-General and that the prosecution is against me,” Joseph said to.
“Following my illegal trumped-up trial by the police over the last six years, and the attempt by the suspects to influence the judiciary, I petitioned the AGF to demand a review of the case.
“In 2018, the AGF intervened and asked the DPP to take over the prosecution of the case from the police. Although the DPP actually took over the case, the suspects exploited their connections with top officials of the Ministry of Justice and Director of Comparative and International Law, one Mrs Stella Anukam to mislead the DPP and reverse AGF’s directive”.
The Citadel Oracle boss said the involvement of the police, EFCC etc in the case left much to be desired, a situation that made Femi Falana, SAN, in November 2018, request a fiat from the AGF to prosecute the suspects.
“Later, I petitioned the AGF and the Vice President dated 16th April 2021, stating the malicious charge of the police which was in conflict with the legal advice of the DPPF and the police report, I also raised the glaring compromise by the EFCC and the incompetent judgement delivered by Justice Senchi.
“The AGF, after a thorough review of the evidence in the case file, gave a legal opinion that my trial was indeed persecution by the police.
“He, therefore, ordered the DPP again to take over the case, while also directing the police to hands off and transfer the case file to the DPP.
While awaiting AGF’s legal opinion to finally terminate the case against him, Joseph said the AGF, on May 10, 2022, “gave approval to the request made in 2018 by Mr Femi Falana SAN for a fiat to prosecute the suspects”.
On September 9, 2022, Joseph said, Falana after four months of diligent study of the case and documented evidence proceeded to file a 17-count charge No. FCT/HC/CR/469/2022 at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Maitama against 11 suspects involved in the fraud, including Zinox Chairman, Leo Stan Ekeh and his wife, Chioma.
In addition, Joseph hinted that Leo Stan Ekeh, his wife and four others on October 6, 2022, filed application No. M/11480/2022 to defend themselves.
‘The question is if there is no ongoing prosecution in court anywhere against them for the crime, why are they filing for their defence, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Citadel Oracle Concept Ltd queried.
