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HealthPlus Crisis: Mrs George Unfair to Me- Leo Stan Ekeh
Leo Stan Ekeh, founder of Zinox group and serial investor, has cleared the air on the controversy surrounding his role in the troubled HealthPlus, Nigerian healthcare firm.
Leo Stan Ekeh
In a detailed statement Monday and signed by Barrister Reginald Obiakor, senior special assistant (SSA) to Ekeh on Legal Affairs, he clarified the alleged involvement of the Zinox Chairman in the HealthPlus’ crisis with its investors, Alta Semper, a private equity firm.
Obiakor claimed specifically that Mrs. Bukky George, the embattled Founder and CEO of HealthPlus, had first reached out to Ekeh to mentor her on 31 March 2020 but that his only offence was advising her to settle her misunderstanding with her investors in order to save her business and to avoid damaging the growing investor confidence in Nigerian startups and nothing more.
“Mr. Ekeh feels extremely sad that he has to publicly explain his business relationship with Mrs. Bukky George, founder and CEO of HealthPlus and her investors – Alta Semper. She is a respectably married woman, a mother and a sound entrepreneur. But it is critical that we set the records straight for the benefit of posterity,” the statement reads in part.
“For the records, Mrs. George had first contacted Mr. Ekeh via a text message at 4.13am on the 31st of March 2020, introducing herself and requesting a time to call him. He replied her at 8:45am and asked her to call at 10am. She called and they spoke. She told him how she has followed his very successful digital entrepreneurial story for years and would like him to mentor her.
“She also requested that he assists her finance her importation of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) with well over $1m and that she could share the profit with him 50/50. But Mr. Ekeh wanted to know a little more about her business before committing funds and she spent about 30 minutes, telling him her life history.
‘‘Impressed by her narration, he had told her she was a miracle child and that God has destined her for greatness. Indeed, Mr. Ekeh was excited to assist her make some funds available to support her business. The Zinox Chairman is well aware of the challenges faced by women entrepreneurs in Africa, how they are marginalized by the system. His mother, wife and two daughters are all entrepreneurs, though successful, but he feels their pain.
‘‘Mrs. George passed across her Chinese contact and Mr. Ekeh forwarded it to his consultant in China. The consultant came back a few hours later to inform that the company Mrs. George was looking to do business with was into agricultural trading and was not worth more than $250,000. Over the next two days, Mr. Ekeh had spent over three hours, speaking to various contacts in Nigeria and the US on her behalf. At the end, he had discovered no PPEs existed. It would have been a disaster. However, owing to the due diligence he carried out, Mrs. George did not lose any money and she thanked him for investigating it.
‘‘A few days later, Mrs. George requested a loan of N2 billion to support her business in meeting growing demands during the severe months of the COVID-19 pandemic and promised to pay back. She claimed God sent her to Mr. Ekeh after she failed to secure assistance from some well-known Nigerian Yoruba billionaires (whose names we have decided not to mention at this point). At this stage, he had asked for the configuration of her investors because you cannot extend a loan to a corporate body without a Board resolution. It was at this point that she mentioned her PE investors – Alta Semper and the issues she was having with them.
“The Executive Management of Alta Semper are well known to Mr. Ekeh because they wanted a partnership with Konga after the company announced the launch of Konga Health in June last year. They wanted to plug into Konga’s advanced technology infrastructure, regional warehouse network, digital logistics and CBN-licensed payment system.
“In fact, her investors are at home in Mr. Ekeh’s UK home and he was comfortable with the integrity and quality of the funders of Alta Semper; even as he noted that they had huge resources to fund HealthPlus without relying on bank loans. Consequently, Mr. Ekeh had told Mrs. George it would be difficult for him to extend or guarantee a facility to her, owing to the issues she was having with her investors as he needed to secure his investment. He assured her that her investors as majority shareholders have all resources she needed to turn around the company and he knew them very well but thought their investment was in MedPlus Ltd.
“Immediately after that call, Mr. Ekeh had put a call through to the CEO of Alta Semper to ask why they were not funding HealthPlus. The CEO had poured out their frustrations with Mrs. George, stating that even to secure a meeting, she wouldn’t pick or return their calls and expressed how disappointed they were at the development. She assured Mr. Ekeh that they were willing to invest more money in the business, only if Mrs. George would respect the terms of their engagement, and that they needed more comfort with respect to corporate governance issues, etc. Further, she pleaded with Mr. Ekeh to help intervene since Mrs. George seemed to be close to him and respects him a lot.
“After extracting this commitment from them and speaking with their big boss in Manhattan who is globally known, Mr. Ekeh had spent over a month unsuccessfully trying to convince Mrs. George on why she should find a middle ground with her investors in order to save her business as they were majority shareholders. He had also advised that the current impasse with them has the potential of damaging investor confidence in other Nigerian startups. However, Mrs. George had remained adamant and insisted that she was heading to court.
“Mr. Ekeh had reminded her that no sensible person who wanted her progress would advise her to fight with her majority investors at the peak of her fortunes. To further make her see reason, Mr. Ekeh had invited Mrs. George to his office in Victoria Island on August 26, 2020 after her family’s COVID-19 challenge. She arrived alone at 11:41am. It is important to state, at this juncture, that this was the first true physical meeting between Mr. Ekeh and Mrs. George. Again, his impression of her at this point was of a brilliant entrepreneur with a lot of positive energy.
“Mr. Ekeh had spent the next three hours, in the company of his wife, Mrs. Chioma Ekeh, pleading with Mrs. George to see reason not to embark on a messy suit with her investors and the need to find an amicable solution that works for both parties. Mr. Ekeh had specifically told her that entrepreneurs in Nigeria are disadvantaged and reeled out a lot of examples to back up his claims in the course of pleading with her.
Mr. Ekeh had told her that the consequences of a fight with her investors would have a number of detrimental effects on her business including potential withdrawal of suppliers, pressure from bankers to recover any existing facilities and stoppage of future loans as well as loss of trust from the global investor community on her brand and person.”
Furthermore, he had assured Mrs George that God, who had brought her thus far in business, would not desert her, urging her to apply common sense.
In the words of Mr. Ekeh: “I promised to help her to the best of my ability for her to succeed. I confided in her that Alta Semper had earlier shown an interest in investing in Konga and would like to take advantage of its huge resources to scale at a very low entry cost across Africa and that because of this, I had also considered investing a little sum in their African vehicle. Alta Semper has huge investments in Kenya, Morocco and Egypt and I had advised them to add Ghana because of my interest.
“As her mentor and as a mark of respect, I told Mrs. George that I had asked the management of Konga to suspend further discussions with Alta Semper until they resolved their differences with Mrs. George and HealthPlus. I even went as far as promising some incentives to HealthPlus, all in a bid to discourage her from fighting.’’
“Mr. Ekeh had ended the meeting by urging Mrs. George to see the huge opportunities for her, the business and her family. He had further asked her to pray over the matter and get back to him on her decision. Two days after, she had written Mr. Ekeh to state that she was going ahead with her course of action against her investors.
“Thereafter, Mr. Ekeh had acknowledged her response, even as he further implored her to reconsider her decision for the sake of her business. This was where Mr. Ekeh had left the subject until our attention was drawn to the initial allegations from Mrs. George that Mr. Ekeh was involved in a planned takeover of her business. We had first dismissed this, only to learn that she had written a private letter to former President Olusegun Obasanjo — a man who, as President, honoured Mr. Ekeh as an Icon of Hope and a pride to modern Nigeria on Nigeria’s Independence Anniversary on October, 1st, 2001— which she had proceeded to circulate to the press before the former President even saw the letter.
“It is also important to respond to the allegations that Mr. Ekeh had appointed a certain Chidi Okoro to take over HealthPlus. Mr. Okoro, whom Mrs. George refers to, is a first class business leader who is well known in the FMCG and Pharmaceutical sectors to Mr. Ekeh for years. He is a brilliant Nigerian who has managed successful multinationals across Africa.
“Mr. Ekeh had first referred Mr. Okoro to a global Health Foundation who were looking for a proven hand for a research consultancy in Africa. The Foundation was keen to appoint a Kenyan before they took Mr. Ekeh’s advice and appointed Mr. Okoro for the role. A month later, they had called Mr. Ekeh, expressing satisfaction with the choice of Mr. Okoro and effusively appreciating Mr. Ekeh for the referral.
“To set the records straight, Mr. Ekeh was not informed or consulted when Alta Semper engaged him on a six months’ consultancy to turn around HealthPlus. He had only heard of it from reports in the media, contrary to the claims by Mrs. George. Mr. Ekeh is certain Mr. Okoro, at his level, will not accept the CEO position of HealthPlus, after leading bigger multinationals.
“In closing, Mr. Ekeh feels highly embarrassed by some of the potentially libelous allegations made by Mrs. George and believes that she has been very unfair to someone who had only meant well for her. He expressly authorizes her to publish for public consumption all emails and WhatsApp communication they had both exchanged.
“Also, he pleads with friends and associates to allow Mrs. George the respect and privacy she deserves as he has learned another lesson in his entrepreneurship pursuit. He also advises startups or those looking for investors to respect agreements entered into for global investors to have faith in the Nigerian economy.’’
The Lagos State Governor, His Excellency Babajide Sanwo-Olu has commended Africa’s leading e-commerce platform, Jumia Nigeria, for its giant strides and in the growth of the country’s e-commerce sector, as well as its unique contributions to its economic development.
He said that Jumia has earned its place as a major brand, with its growth and trajectory in the country’s e-commerce ecosystem over the years which, he said, has made it a household name. He urged the company to not only strive to maintain its excellent service standards, but to also work towards improving them.
The Governor who was speaking during a courtesy visit by the management of Jumia Nigeria to the State House in Marina on Thursday March 27, reaffirmed the strategic importance of the company in the economic development of Lagos State and Nigeria, especially in job creation.
He restated his administration’s commitment in ensuring that Lagos State remains environmentally friendly for businesses to grow.
“Our administration has always prioritized creating an enabling environment for businesses to thrive. Through various initiatives, we have strengthened the ease of doing business, and fostered innovation to drive economic growth, and we will continue to support businesses and create opportunities that will aid in their growth”, Sanwo-Olu said.
Governor Sanwo-Olu said that the Lagos State Government remains open to collaborations with the private sector to enhance service delivery, infrastructure development, and create opportunities for residents, with the aim of building a resilient and sustainable future.
He said the administration recognises the importance of working with the private sector to achieve its goals of improving the lives of its citizens.
Speaking also, the Chief Executive Officer of Jumia Nigeria, Sunil Natraj, thanked the governor for creating an enabling environment in the state for businesses like Jumia to grow. He stated Jumia’s commitment to contributing towards the growth and development of the state, and the country.
Natraj said the company has made tremendous strides from its early days as a tech start-up in Lagos and has grown to become the number one e-commerce platform in Nigeria, with a presence in nine African countries. He said the company presently employs hundreds of Nigerians directly, and thousands more indirectly as independent sales agents and partners.
He restated Jumia Nigeria’s commitment to providing excellent service, focusing on delivering exceptional value and fostering long-term relationships with its customers around the country.
Among other things, he said the company is actively working to enhance customer experience, aiming to simplify the e-commerce process, making it easier for customers to navigate and shop online.
According to him, Jumia aims to transform everyday life in Africa by making it easier for consumers to access goods and services conveniently and affordably, adding that the company is focused on expanding access to retail across the country.
Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has announced its readiness for the capital market with an Initial Public Offer (IPO) now in the final stage.
Mr. Olugbenga Oluwaniyi, chief finance and investor relations officer (CFIO), NNPC, stated this at a consultative meeting with partners at the NNPC Towers, Abuja, on Thursday.
He said the move aligned with the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021.
He said NNPCL was currently engaging with prospective partners in an exercise tagged: “NNPC Ltd. IPO Beauty Parade” in line with capital market regulations before the commencement of the IPO.
According to the CFIO, the aim of the IPO Beauty Parade is to assess potential partners and determine in what ways they could be of support to the company.
He listed the areas of partnership required to include Investor Relations, IPO Readiness Advisors, and Investment Bank Partners.
He said the company with the best offer in terms of project partnership would be selected for each of the three categories.
The PIA provides for NNPCL to list its shares in the capital market in line with the provisions of the Company and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 1990.
Federal High Court in the Bwari Judicial Division has thrown out a case of fraud filed against the Chairman of Zinox Technologies, Mr. Leo Stan Ekeh, his wife, Chioma Ekeh, and 11 others.
Femi Falana and Leo Stan Ekeh
This is the umpteenth time.
The latest is the dismissal of the suit by Justice Akpan Okon Ebong of the FCT High Court, who struck out the case filed by Mr. Femi Falana SAN, purporting to act on a fiat donated to him by Mr. Lateef Fagbemi SAN, attorney general and minister of Justice of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, against Mr. Leo Stan Ekeh, chairman of Zinox Technologies, and 12 others.
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.
In the suit No. FCT/HC/CR/985/24 filed in November 2024, Falana, on behalf of his client, Benjamin Joseph, the CEO of Citadel Oracle Concept Limited, an Ibadan-based computer firm, filed charges against Ekeh, 9 other individuals and 3 companies before the Federal High Court in Abuja for allegedly diverting N162,247,513.80 being payment for laptop supply contract at the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) Headquarters which Technology Distribution Ltd (now TD Africa), the biggest tech equipment distributor in sub-Saharan Africa supplied on behalf of Citadel in 2012.
However, 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.”
Before arriving at his judgment, which has put the final nail in the coffin of a case that other courts had also dismissed in the past as dead on arrival, Justice Ebong considered the outcome of previous cases and petitions filed by Mr. Joseph, none of which was in his favour.
Justice Ebong said: “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.
When contacted, one of the defendants, Mr. Chris Eze Ozims, a lawyer, said: “This ruling truly reflects our consistent position on the allegations, and it is good that we have been vindicated, once more, by a competent high court.”
He asserted that the judgment of Justice Ebong was consistent with the position of the defendants and in tandem with the rulings of other judges who had previously adjudicated on the same matter.
Mr. Matthew Burkaa SAN, chief counsel to the defendants, described the judgment as a victory for integrity and the rule of law.
Court papers showed that Falana’s suit was based on the same claims that various courts had dismissed in the past as falsehood and baseless. The case arose from a contract between Citadel and Technology Distributions Limited over the supply of computers to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), a project fully funded by Technology Distributions and has no bearing whatsoever with Zinox and its promoter, Mr Leo Stan Ekeh.
It will be recalled that Mr. Joseph had lost the case and its adjunct suits at different courts in the past. In his petition to the police in 2013, police authorities discovered 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 in 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.
Earlier court papers showed that Joseph, in his statement on oath in suit No:LD/4335/2014 in the High Court of Justice, Lagos State, dated June 28, 2019, averred that his company, Citadel, did not execute any contract with FIRS and that he was not aware that a contract had been awarded to Citadel.
In his deposition under oath, Joseph claimed that Citadel “did not at any time execute any contract for the FIRS and neither did the 2nd defendant (Princess O. Kama) who is its agent in respect of the contract it bid for with the FIRS deliver/release any documents to the Claimant (Citadel) indicating that the contract it bid for, or any other contract was awarded to it by the FIRS or any other body.”
However, a letter from the FIRS addressed to the chamber of Afe Babalola & Co dated February 11, 2014 (FIRS/PD/GDS/2559) and signed by one Idrissa Kogo, Head Legal Department, stated: “Contrary to your client’s claim that they knew nothing about the execution of the contract awarded to them and that they did not receive any payment for the execution of the contract, our record reveals otherwise.
“Your client instructed FIRS through a letter dated December 13, 2012, to deal with Princess O. Kama (Your client’s agent) in relation to the contract. Through three separate letters dated December 20, 2012, your client instructed FIRS to pay to the client’s account with Access Bank plc. Please note that FIRS acted in compliance with your client’s instruction and with due diligence,” the FIRS letter stated.
The FIRS letter was a response to inquiry by Afe Babalola Chamber, lawyers to Citadel Oracle Concept Ltd and its MD, Mr. Benjamin Joseph, at that time.
The current charges filed by Falana on the basis of a fiat from the Attorney General is the third in a row as Mr Joseph had earlier filed charge no.CR/469/2022, which was struck out by Honorable Justice C. O. Oba of the FCT High Court, by an order dated November 8, 2022.
Determined to push through with his case, Mr Joseph filed the same charges before Honorable Justice A. 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.”
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