The lawyers also noted that the police and EFCC investigations revealed that Ekeh and Zinox are not connected to the allegations that formed the basis of the publications.
By Jeffrey Agbo
Chairman of Zinox Technologies Limited, Leo Stan Ekeh, has discredited reports alleging that himself, his wife, Chioma, and some of his staff were charged to court over N170 million contract fraud.
In a press statement on Tuesday made on his behalf by his lawyers from Matthew Burkaa and Co., Ekeh said some online news platforms published false stories about him and the aforementioned.
The statement by his lawyers read, “Our clients have drawn our attention to several online publications containing some false, distorted and damaging contents in the Sahara Reporters of October 2, 2022, titled: Zinox group chairman, wife, 11 others face trial in Nigerian court over alleged N170m contract fraud nine years after.”
The statement said similar stories were published in some other online news outlets.
The lawyers noted that copies of the online publications have since gone viral on social media and have been read globally. They added that their clients – Ekeh, Technology Distributions Limited (TD), Mrs Ekeh, and their staff – Chris Ozims, Oyebode Folashade and Charles Adigwe – have been inundated with calls from persons shocked over the disturbing publications.
Addressing the matter, the lawyers said, “First of all, of great concern, is how straightforward business transaction between two corporate entities, Technology Distributions Limited (TD) and Citadel Oracle Concepts Ltd, has been skewed in a manner to give the erroneous impression that a personal business was transacted by individuals, to wit: Mr Leo Stan Ekeh, his wife and his named staff with one Mr Benjamin Joseph.”
The statement said the publications were made to blackmail, drag, embarrass and bring down the persons named in the publications while Mr Joseph is made to appear as a victim.
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Explaining Ekeh’s side of the story, the lawyers said the matter began after a “2012 credit sales of HP laptops to Citadel Oracle Ltd on an interest-free credit facility when they could not fund the contract awarded to them by FIRS to supply laptops, along with 12 other companies. After FIRS paid all suppliers who were funded by Technology Distributions (TD) the other companies paid TD the pre-agreed invoice value. But Mr Benjamin Joseph, the MD of Citadel, tried to divert TD’s fund but his partner Princess Kama resisted that move.”
The statement noted that after TD was paid, a dispute arose between Joseph and Kama on profit sharing to the extent that Joseph’s counsel, Afe Babalola (SAN), unsuccessfully tried to intervene.
“It was at this point that he changed the story and contented that he was not aware of the contract and that his company was used to defraud FIRS. However, during investigation by Nigerian Police and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the FIRS provided proof that Benjamin Joseph was indeed aware of the contract and that all the ordered computers were fully supplied and received by the FIRS,” the statement said.
The lawyers also noted that the police and EFCC investigations revealed that Ekeh and Zinox are not connected to the allegations that formed the basis of the publications and that on the contrary, Joseph is presently standing trial in court for forwarding false allegations via a petition containing the very allegations that formed the basis of the publications.
The lawyers concluded that they would take legal action against the publishers of such false reports.
“Our clients shall employ every available legal means to address the libelous contents in the referenced publications and seek for appropriate remedies and damages where necessary,” they said.