Zinox Technologies, a leading information and communications technology firm in Nigeria, has slammed a N2 billion suit on Premium Times,
an online news medium, for a series of defamatory publications against
the company, its chairman, Leo Stan Ekeh and other officials of the
company.
Joined in the suit filed
by the law chambers of Chukwuma Ekomaru (SAN) are Premium Times
Services Limited; the medium’s publisher and chief executive officer,
Dapo Olorunyomi; managing editor, Musikilu Mojeed and reporter/head,
business and economy desk, Bassey Udo who authored the publications.
In a well-publicized move, the management of Zinox had given a seven-day deadline to the publishers of Premium Times to retract the offending publications against the company and its officials or face a legal action.
And faced with the non-compliance of the
medium, Zinox had instituted a defamation suit in the High Court of the
Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, against the newspaper and its
management team.
According to the statement of claims
filed by the plaintiff, the offending materials include a September 15th
2016 publication titled: EFCC quizzes Zinox Computers Boss, 4 others over alleged 170 million contract fraud; an October 9th 2016 publication titled: Attorney General wades into 170 million contract fraud allegedly involving Zinox Computers and a May 2nd 2017 publication titled: 170 Million contract fraud: Zinox Computers has case to answer, court rules.
Zinox held that the publications are
libelous, malicious and have discredited and damaged the reputation of
the company in the eyes of the general public. For instance, in the
September 15th, 2016 article titled: EFCC Quizzes Zinox Computers Boss, 4 Others Over Alleged Fraud, Premium Times
had stated, “However, bank documents seen by this newspaper showed
transfers of monies between FIRS account at the CBN and the fake account
as well as approvals by top officials of Zinox Technologies for
disbursement from the account to Zinox bank’s accounts and those of the
suspects.”
The Management of Zinox has consistently
denied being involved in any transaction leading to this publication
and further denied ever receiving any monies into its accounts as stated
by Premium Times. Thus, with the case now filed against them, the onus
is on the Management of Premium Times to prove the veracity of their
article or be held accountable for same, for which they would likely pay
huge compensation as damages suffered by Zinox for the libelous
publications.
Among the reliefs being sought by the
plaintiff against Premium Times is the sum of N2B as damages for the
libelous and malicious publications; an order of perpetual injunction
restraining the defendants or their agents from further publications of a
similar nature; a public apology published in Premium Times for two
uninterrupted months as well as retraction of the afore-mentioned
articles; an order of the Court directing the removal of all offending
publications concerning the plaintiffs or any of its officers online and
on social media as well as the sum of N10m being the cost of the court
action.
Zinox’s suit against Premium Times arose
from the on-going prosecution of Benjamin Joseph, Managing Director of
an Ibadan-based firm, Citadel Oracle Concepts before an Abuja High
Court, for giving the Nigerian Police false and misleading information
after rigorous investigation following his petition in 2013 regarding a
business transaction with their authorized representative, Princess Kama
and foremost ICT products distributors, Technology Distributions Ltd
(TD). A forensic analysis had confirmed that he actually signed certain
documents, including a board resolution, which was the basis of his
petition, a fact he had suppressed in his petition.
In the words of Gideon Ayogu, Head of
Corporate Communications at Zinox, TD is a totally different company
from Zinox with different directors, shareholders, management team and a
different line of business and Zinox was not in any way involved in the
transaction that culminated in Joseph’s arraignment and prosecution by
the Nigerian Police for false petitioning and deceit before an Abuja
High Court.
“It is important to note that in the
entire transaction leading up to this case, in all the above
investigations and reports, Zinox Technologies Ltd. was not in any way
involved. The transaction only involved Technology Distributions Ltd.
and its staff, of whom the reports of the Police Special Fraud Unit
(SFU) and other agencies had absolved TD and its staff of any
liabilities, after extensive investigations since 2013 that traversed
the SFU, the Nigerian Police Headquarters, Abuja; and the EFCC, Abuja.
Yet, Premium Times kept spewing out spurious stories as if Technology
Distributions and its staff were under investigations or facing criminal
charges. Also, Leo Stan Ekeh was not involved in the said transaction
and the investigations.
“Leo Stan Ekeh has never met with Mr.
Benjamin Joseph, the Managing Director of Citadel Oracle Concepts and
neither Ekeh or any other official of Zinox has had any form of business
transaction with the said company. This raises questions on the motive
behind Premium Times’ continued campaign of calumny against Ekeh which
appears a cheap attempt at extortion.
“This is why in the online publications,
the photographs of Ekeh is displayed and Zinox is used as the caption,
even when the company has no bearing with the story. This is blackmail.
There is no other explanation for this other than blackmail.”
Premium Times is expected to appear before the court within eight days after the service of the court processes on them.
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