The Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, has withdrawn the fiat donated to Mr. Femi Falana, SAN, to prosecute the Chairman of Zinox Technologies, Mr. Leo Stan Ekeh and 12 others.

The fiat which was granted to Falana on December 20, 2023 to prosecute the alleged case of fraud against the defendants was withdrawn following request by Mr. Mathew Burkaa, SAN, counsel representing the defendants in the suit marked: FCT/HC/CR/985/2024, between FRN v. Leo Stan Ekeh and 12 others.

According to the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Mr. M. B. Abubakar, the senior lawyer had written the AGF on several occasions demanding the withdrawal of the fiat.

In a correspondence dated May 6, and addressed to Burkaa, the AGF said he took the decision to withdraw the authorization after a consideration of the senior lawyer’s request, the facts and circumstances of the case.

The letter read inter alia: “You may wish to refer to the above-mentioned subject matter and be informed that the office of the Attorney General of the Federation is in receipt of your letters dated December 24, 2024; March 27, 2025 and April 10, 2025 respectively, requesting for the withdrawal of the fiat donated to Messrs. Femi Falana SAN on December 20, 2023.

“I am to inform you that after a consideration of your request, the facts and circumstances of the case, the Attorney General of the Federation has withdrawn the fiat donated to Messrs. Femi Falana SAN, dated December 20, 2023 vide a letter dated May 2, 2025.”

Meanwhile, the May 2, letter addressed to Falana and titled: Withdrawal of Authorization Under Section 174 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 as Amended, reads: “I am directed to write in reference to the above caption and to inform you that the Honourable Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice in exercise of the power conferred upon him by section 174 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, as amended and section 106 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015, has withdrawn the fiat earlier granted to you dated December 20, 2023 to prosecute the case mentioned below at the expense of the nominal complainant Mr. Joseph Benjamin: FRG V. Chris Eze Ozims and 6 others, Charge No: CR/827/2013.

“You are accordingly, requested to withdraw Charge No; FCT/HC/CR/985/2024 between FRN v. Leo Stan Ekeh and 12 others in the interest of justice.”

However, this is not the first time the AGF is withdrawing the fiat donated to the senior lawyer and rights activist.

Recall that the former AGF and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami SAN, had in a letter dated October 28, 2022, withdrawn a similar fiat that was donated to Falana, upon his own application, on the same set of facts and allegations.

Based on the withdrawal, the charges filed by Falana, pursuant to the Fiat were struck out by two justices of the FCT High Court, Abuja (Honourable Justice Christopher O. Oba, and Honourable Justice Ade. S. Adepoju).

However, upon the appointment of the current AGF and Minister of Justice, Femi Falana, again applied and got a Fiat with which he filed a new case: Charge No: FCT/HC/CR/985/2024 between FRN.v. Leo Stan and 12 others, still on the same set of facts and allegations.

But upon a further review of the file at the Ministry of Justice, the AGF and Minister of Justice came to the conclusion that “in the interest of justice” the Fiat and the Charges filed pursuant to it should be withdrawn.

Recall that this case and its adjunct suits had been dismissed three times by three different courts.

The latest dismissal was on March 20, 2025 by Justice Akpan Okon Ebong of the FCT High Court who struck out the case filed by Mr. Femi Falana SAN, against the Chairman of Zinox Technologies, Mr. Leo Stan Ekeh, and 12 others, based on the Fiat (that has now been withdrawn from him.).

The other defendants are Mr. Chris Eze Ozims, Oyebode Folashade, Charles Adigwe, Obilo Onuoha, Agartha Ukoha, Anya O. Anya, Femi Dosumu, Nnenna Kalu, Admas Digital Technologies Limited, Technology Distributions Limited and Zinox Technologies Limited.

The suit No. FCT/HC/CR/985/24 filed in November 2024 by Falana on behalf of his client, Benjamin Joseph, before the Federal High Court in Abuja for the same alleged diversion of N162,247,513.80 being payment for laptop supply contract at FIRS Headquarters was dismissed.

In the Certified True Copy of the judgment dated March 20, 2025, Justice Ebong ruled as follows: “It is my conclusion based on the foregoing that this charge (No. FCT/HC/CR/985/2024, Federal Republic of Nigeria v Leo Stan Ekeh and 12 ORS) constitutes a gross abuse of court process and is liable to dismissal. I accordingly hereby dismiss it.”

Justice Ebong held: “One intriguing aspect of this matter is that none of the law enforcement agencies involved in the investigation of the nominal complainant’s (Mr. Joseph) numerous petitions has found merit in any of his allegations against the defendants.

When called upon before Senchi J. (Justice Danlami Z. Senchi) to prove his said allegations to the court, he failed to turn up in court. One then wonders on what premise he wants to maintain this campaign of persecution against the defendants.”

Previous judgments on the matter had established that rather than being the culprit, Ekeh and the 12 others were actually the victims of a failed money diversion scheme plotted by Mr. Joseph and Citadel.

The most recent charges filed by Falana on the basis of a fiat from the Attorney General was the third in a row as Mr. Joseph had earlier filed charge no.CR/469/2022, which was struck out by Honorable Justice Christopher O. Oba of the FCT High Court, by an order dated November 8, 2022.

Justice Oba ruled: “Upon hearing the counsel for both the Prosecution and the Defendants in court, the basis for which the law firm of Femi Falana filed the present charge is the authority gotten from the Attorney General of the Federation. The said authority has been withdrawn, there is legally no basis for the present charge before this court. Therefore, this charge is hereby struck out.”

Determined to push through his case, Mr. Joseph filed the same charges before Honorable Justice Ade S. Adepoju of the FCT High Court, and the charges were, once again, struck out by the Honorable Court on March 19, 2024, with Honorable Justice Adepoju holding that: “This matter was brought in dead, extinct and should be confined into the dustbin of history…I hold that the instant suit is an abuse of the process of court and it is hereby struck out accordingly.”

It will be recalled that in his petition to the police in 2013, it was alleged by police authorities that Mr. Joseph provided false information to the police, prompting the Inspector General of Police to charge him for false information in charge no.CR/216/16.

In another case filed by the EFCC at his instance against his partner, Princess Kama, in charge no. FCT/HC/CR/244/2018, Honorable Justice Danlami Z. Senchi of the FCT High Court (as he then was), dismissed as false all the allegations made by Benjamin Joseph, and imposed the sum of N20 million as damages against him for false petitioning in relation to these same allegations.