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The Excessive Court docket of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) presided over by Honourable Justice C. O. Oba sitting in Court docket 32 has struck out Cost No. FCT/HC/CR/469/2022 filed by Falana & Falana in opposition to the Chairman, Zinox Applied sciences, Leo Stan Ekeh and officers of Expertise Distributions Restricted, together with Mrs. Chioma Ekeh, Chris Eze Ozims, Shade Oyebode, Charles Adigwe and others over an alleged fraud involving a N170m contract with the Federal Inland Income Service (FIRS).
This follows a letter dated October 28, 2022 from the Workplace of the Lawyer Normal of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, via the Workplace of the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation (DPP) to Falana & Falana withdrawing the fiat earlier granted them in Could 2022 and likewise directing them to right away withdraw the stated Cost constituted as FCT/HC/CR/469/2022 leveled in opposition to Mr. Ekeh and the others, based mostly on the findings that the fiat was obtained on misrepresentation and concealment of fabric details by their shopper, Mr. Benjamin Joseph of Citadel Oracle Ideas Restricted.
On the court docket proceedings on Tuesday, November 8, 2022, Mr. Marshall Abubakar, counsel from the agency of Falana & Falana, who appeared for the prosecution, tried to argue in opposition to the instruction and sought adjournment on some flimsy grounds, regardless of the clear instruction of the AGF contained within the letter to his agency. Nevertheless, Mr. Matthew Bukaa (SAN) who appeared for Mr. Ekeh, and the aforementioned employees of Expertise Distributions Restricted, opposed the applying for adjournment and prayed the court docket to offer impact to the unambiguous directive of the AGF to withdraw the fees. The trial choose, Honourable Justice C. O Oba, after reviewing the licensed true copy of the Lawyer Normal’s letter, agreed with the defence counsel, Mr. Bukaa SAN, that there isn’t a reliable grounds to maintain the fees or grant adjournment and accordingly struck out the fees.
It will be recalled that some current media publications had revealed tales indicating that the Federal Authorities of Nigeria was to prosecute Mr. Ekeh and 12 others over an alleged N170million FIRS contract which Mr. Benjamin Joseph claims was fraudulently executed utilizing the title of his firm, Citadel Oracle Idea Restricted, with out his data and that the Federal Authorities was accordingly defrauded. It was additionally reported that the agency of Falana & Falana, appearing for Mr. Benjamin Joseph, utilized for and was granted a fiat in Could 2022 from the AGF to deliver a cost in opposition to Mr. Ekeh and 12 others, upon which Mr. Femi Falana filed the purported cost on September 9, 2022.
Nevertheless, the Lawyer Normal, by a letter dated October 28, 2022, to Falana & Falana withdrew the fiat earlier granted them and directed them to right away withdraw the cost they filed in court docket. The directive got here a few weeks after the AGF found that materials data was withheld within the software by Falana & Falana for the fiat allegedly meant to prosecute Ekeh and others. Crucially, Mr. Falana SAN, who had solely just lately began representing Benjamin Joseph, didn’t speak in confidence to the AGF that the FCT Excessive Court docket presided by Honourable Justice Damlami Senchi had in February 2021 delivered a judgment in Cost No. FCT/HC/CR/244/2018, dismissing as false and malicious the varied allegations put ahead by Mr. Benjamin Joseph and awarded the sum of N20m in opposition to him as damages for false petitioning and to function a deterrence to others in opposition to false data. The revered SAN additionally didn’t disclose that his shopper has refused to be cross-examined since 2018 in an ongoing prison case (Cost No. CR/216/2016) instituted in opposition to him by the Federal Authorities of Nigeria via the Workplace of the Inspector Normal of Police (IGP) based mostly on false data on the identical allegations.
Additionally, it was not disclosed to the AGF that the Nigerian Police Drive Headquarters had, by a complete ultimate report dated December 1, 2020, after a radical evaluation of the details and investigations of the case, absolved Mr. Ekeh and all of the aforementioned individuals of any prison legal responsibility in the complete transaction resulting in this case, however somewhat really useful the continuation of the trial of Mr. Benjamin Joseph which started since 2016. Moreover, the AGF had, by a letter dated June 6, 2022, additionally directed the Inspector Normal of Police to prosecute Benjamin Joseph to a logical conclusion. The stated prison proceedings remains to be ongoing in opposition to Mr. Benjamin Joseph earlier than Honourable Justice Peter Kekemeke of the FCT Excessive Court docket and comes up on January 24, 2023, for continuation of trial.
There was, subsequently, no foundation to grant or maintain the fiat to file expenses in opposition to Mr. Ekeh and the employees of Expertise Distributions on the identical set of details and allegations for which Mr. Benjamin Joseph, the petitioner, is at the moment standing trial for false data. Consequently, the fiat was withdrawn and the Cost struck out on Tuesday, November 8, 2022 by Honourable Justice C. O. Oba sitting in Court docket 32 of the FCT Excessive Court docket.
Reacting to the event, a human rights activist, Dr. Niyi Abo, who was current in court docket on a sidelines as an observer, hailed the judgment, at the same time as he expressed his disappointment on the step taken by Falana & Falana in submitting the case in opposition to Mr. Ekeh and others with out due diligence.
‘‘I feel what they need to obtain is to see Mr. Ekeh within the dock simply to decrease his stature as a result of from findings, the one sin the person dedicated is that he based TD Africa and his firm prolonged an interest-free credit score to assist a younger man to outlive, similar to he has carried out for 1000’s of others companions of TD Africa, a few of whom are in court docket right here in sympathy with Mr. Ekeh.
‘‘This additional provides vent to the claims that this is perhaps a case of blackmail gone mistaken, in line with what Benjamin Joseph’s ex-business associate, Princess Kama confirmed within the media herself, that Benjamin Joseph’s grouse is that she didn’t help him to divert TD Africa’s funds after the FIRS paid them, in addition to his alleged try and extort cash from Mr. Ekeh when he learnt that Mr. Ekeh is a really wealthy man. I perceive Mr. Ekeh and his spouse have by no means met the alleged blackmailer. Does it imply should you transact a enterprise with an organization and one thing goes mistaken in line with your personal estimation, you begin calling the Chairman of the corporate, a distinguished Nigerian and international citizen, a prison?
‘‘I sincerely assume it is vitally demeaning for a good legislation agency like Falana and Falana to get entangled on this. Nigerian legal professionals should please improve and exhaust easy due diligence on their purchasers earlier than accepting their briefs. I feel that blackmail, as a result of onerous instances, is likely one of the greatest companies in Africa now. A number of compromised media homes are being utilized by these blackmailers to extort wealthy males. You possibly can think about the adverse publicity orchestrated by some on-line media homes in opposition to Mr. Ekeh prior to now few days on account of this ineffective case.
‘‘I congratulate Mr. Ekeh for having the center to comply with this battle to the top, and if I had been him, I’d most likely contemplate a petition to the Authorized Practitioners Disciplinary Committee in opposition to Falana & Falana. He also needs to take Mr. Benjamin Joseph to the cleaners by taking out court docket actions in opposition to him and his compromised media supporters,’’ Dr. Abo concluded.
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