THE Attorney-General of the Federation, AGF, and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi SAN, has withdrawn the fiat previously granted to prosecute Chairman of Zinox Technologies, Mr. Stan Ekeh and 12 others in a case arising from a 13-year-old transaction.

The protracted legal dispute originated from a business arrangement between Citadel Oracle Concept Limited, an Ibadan-based computer firm owned by Mr. Benjamin Joseph, and Technology Distributions Limited, regarding the supply of computers to the Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS.

In the deal, Technology Distributions fully extended credit to Citadel, and the transaction bore no connection to Zinox Technologies or its chairman, Mr. Ekeh.

In a letter dated May 2, 2025, the AGF, Mr. Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, directed the withdrawal of charge No: FCT/HC/CR/985/2024 (FRN v. Leo Stan Ekeh & 12 others).

The letter by Mr. M. Abubakar, Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, stated the withdrawal was made “in the interest of justice” and noted that the fiat should not have been issued initially.

The letter, entitled “Withdrawal of Authorization Under Section 174 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 as Amended,” also referenced another case, FRN v. Chris Eze Ozims & 6 others (Charge No: CR/827/2013), advising that the fiat granted on 20th December 2023 be withdrawn.

Further communication dated May 6, 2025, from the Director of Public Prosecutions, addressed to the legal representatives of the defendants, confirmed receipt of multiple petitions seeking the withdrawal of the fiat.

After reviewing the facts and circumstances of the case, the AGF concluded that the fiat was no longer valid.

This recent withdrawal echoes a similar move made by former Attorney General, Mr. Abubakar Malami, SAN, who revoked a previous fiat on October 28, 2022, also concerning the same allegations.

The charges filed based on that earlier fiat were subsequently struck out by two judges of the FCT High Court, Justice Christopher Oba and Justice Ade Adepoju.

Despite previous setbacks, a new charge, FCT/HC/CR/985/2024, was filed in November 2024, but it was dismissed by Justice Akpan Ebong on March 20, 2025.

In the certified judgment, Justice Ebong described the case as a “gross abuse of court process,” and ruled that it should be dismissed accordingly. The judge remarked that no law enforcement agency had found merit in any of the complainant’s multiple petitions.

He noted that the complainant had failed to appear in court when required to substantiate his claims and questioned the rationale behind what he described as a campaign of persecution against the defendants.

Past rulings had also established that Mr. Ekeh and the other defendants were, in fact, victims of a fraudulent scheme attempted by Mr. Joseph and Citadel Oracle Concept Limited.

The current case marked the third time charges had been filed over the same allegations.

The earlier charge, CR/469/2022, was dismissed by Justice Oba on November 8, 2022, after the withdrawal of the fiat on which it was based.

Justice Oba held that without the Attorney General’s authorization, the prosecution lacked legal standing.

Subsequently, the complainant filed the same case before Justice Ade Adepoju of the FCT High Court, who dismissed it on March 19, 2024.
In his ruling, Justice Adepoju described the matter as “dead, extinct, and should be confined to the dustbin of history,” declaring it an abuse of court process.

Investigations by the police in 2013, had earlier revealed that Mr. Joseph supplied false information. Consequently, he was charged with false information under Charge No. CR/216/16 by the Inspector General of Police.