The Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, has officially withdrawn the prosecutorial fiat previously granted to human rights lawyer Femi Falana, SAN, in the fraud case involving Zinox Technologies Chairman, Leo Stan Ekeh, and 12 others.
The fiat, granted on December 20, 2023, authorized Falana to prosecute a long-running corporate fraud allegation. However, following multiple legal setbacks and a formal request by defense counsel Matthew Burkaa, SAN, the AGF rescinded the authorization in a letter dated May 2, 2025.
Falana’s Authority Withdrawn After Repeated Legal Defeats
In the letter addressed to both Falana and Burkaa, the AGF cited “the facts and circumstances of the case” as justification for the revocation. He referenced previous appeals by Burkaa dated December 24, 2024, March 27, 2025, and April 10, 2025, urging the Ministry of Justice to act.
“After a review of your request and the context of the matter, the AGF has decided to withdraw the fiat,” the letter stated.
Falana was instructed to immediately withdraw Charge No. FCT/HC/CR/985/2024, the latest in a string of similar lawsuits filed against Ekeh and others in connection with a ₦162 million laptop supply contract at the FIRS.
The case, widely viewed as a judicial merry-go-round, has been dismissed three times by various judges of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court. Most recently, on March 20, 2025, Justice Akpan Okon Ebong dismissed the suit for constituting a “gross abuse of court process.”
“None of the law enforcement agencies has found merit in the complainant’s allegations,” Justice Ebong remarked in the ruling.
A Legal Battle That Refuses to End
This is not the first time a fiat granted to Falana in the matter has been rescinded. In 2022, former AGF Abubakar Malami, SAN, also revoked a similar authorization. Each time the fiat was withdrawn, the associated charges were either struck out or dismissed.
Despite prior dismissals, the complainant, Benjamin Joseph, continued to pursue litigation through Falana’s legal team. His persistence has now been interpreted by multiple judges as a “campaign of persecution.”
“This matter was brought in dead… It is an abuse of court process,” Justice Ade S. Adepoju ruled in a March 19, 2024 judgment.
Earlier rulings also found that Leo Stan Ekeh and his co-defendants were in fact victims of a botched diversion scheme orchestrated by Joseph and his company, Citadel.
Joseph’s Allegations Previously Discredited
The EFCC and police investigations into the matter resulted in charges against Joseph himself for providing false information to law enforcement. In Charge No. CR/216/16, he was arraigned for misleading police authorities. Additionally, Justice Senchi of the FCT High Court imposed ₦20 million in damages against him for filing false petitions in another suit involving a business partner.
This latest action by the AGF appears to be the final nail in the coffin for a legal saga spanning over a decade and costing judicial time, resources, and reputational integrity.
