The Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Lateef Fagbemi, has authorized senior lawyer Femi Falana to prosecute Leonard Stanley Ekeh, the chairman of Zinox Group, and his wife, Chioma, over allegations of fraudulently hijacking a government contract and embezzling over N162 million.
The case, which had been stalled for years, has been revived with this new directive, marking a significant development in a long-running legal battle. The fraud allegations involve the theft of a contract awarded to Citadel Oracle Concept Limited in 2012 to supply computers to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) headquarters.
Ekeh, according to the charges, allegedly opened a bank account in the name of Citadel Oracle and forged the signature of Citadel’s CEO, Benjamin Joseph, to illegally claim the contract’s funds. The crime was reported to the police under the then Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase, but investigations were reportedly slow and ineffective. Joseph accused the police of colluding with Ekeh, given his influential status, to prevent any meaningful progress in the case.
In a controversial twist, the police charged Joseph with filing a false petition against the IGP, a charge that emerged just days before Arase’s retirement. This move effectively turned Joseph from the whistleblower into the accused, while Ekeh and other suspects were listed as prosecution witnesses in the case.
The case remained stalled for several years until former AGF Abubakar Malami issued a directive for prosecution. However, Malami later withdrew the directive under a nolle prosequi, halting any further action. Now, with the fresh authorization from the current AGF, Fagbemi, Falana has been instructed to proceed with the prosecution of Ekeh, his wife Chioma, and several others implicated in the fraud.
The co-accused include Chris Eze Ozims, Folashade Oyebode, Princess Kama, Chief Onny Igbokwe, Charles Adigwe, and Osilo Oruoha.
In a statement issued in 2022, Leonard Ekeh denied the fraud allegations, claiming that investigations conducted by the police and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had exonerated him and his company from any wrongdoing.
Credit: [Peoples Gazette]