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I’ve Never Met Benjamin Joseph, My Alleged Blackmailer – Ekeh, Zinox Boss

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LEO STAN EKEH
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Chairman, Zinox Group, Leo Stan Ekeh has cautioned contemporary African entrepreneurs to guard against a rising wave of corporate blackmail, even as he disclosed that he has never met one Benjamin Joseph, a fellow Igbo and owner of Citadel Oracle Concepts, a small Ibadan-based retail firm who has been in the news recently as standing prosecution for allegedly falsely accusing Mr. Ekeh and others as well as one of Ekeh’s companies of a N170m fraud.

LEO STAN EKEH

Ekeh made this submission while addressing participants at the end of his final virtual mentorship project for 2022 with the theme – The Last Card – involving a cross-section of budding African entrepreneurs and post graduate scholars drawn from select foreign universities last Thursday. He had altered the earlier listed case study –“The emerging corporate miracle” to  “ The Last Card” based on his current experience.

The Zinox Chairman’s comment comes even as lawyers from various backgrounds have continued to debate how Femi Falana, a popular Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) could have taken on a brief without carrying out due diligence into a case in which his client, the said Benjamin Joseph, has continued to sponsor a series of potentially defamatory media reports against Ekeh, despite having a subsisting N20m fine awarded against him by an Abuja court of competent jurisdiction for giving the Federal Government false information, while also facing another criminal charge for false petitioning before an FCT High Court in Abuja filed by the Inspector General of Police (IGP) in which the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami had instructed the IGP and the courts to prosecute Mr. Benjamin Joseph to logical conclusion.

Also featuring at a recent discourse on the subject among the lawyers is how Falana failed to advise his client on the difference between a corporate and personal transaction. In law, there is a separation of personalities between corporations and their individual owners. The law separates two of them as different persons. So, a contract entered into by a company in its normal course of business cannot become the responsibility of a shareholder, especially when that shareholder is not in any way involved in the day-to-to running of the company. Anyone mixing up the two is only acting mischievously to achieve an ulterior motive, which includes embarrassing and blackmailing the shareholder.

Of great concern to the participating lawyers is a perceived attempt to destroy the reputation of a distinguished and humble African and one of Nigeria’s prides identified by President Obasanjo and honoured on October 1st 2001 as an Icon of Hope and a model for Nigerian youths.

Correspondingly, while addressing his audience on Thursday, October 6, 2022, Ekeh stated that today’s entrepreneurs must remain alive to the growing threat of blackmail in professional circles which he described as the fifth highest revenue earner globally. In addition, he added that in a case of corporate blackmail, there is often a ‘small masquerade’ involved.

‘‘This challenge is a good case study for upcoming African entrepreneurs. As businesses in Africa continue to take a hit from global economic crises – due to the lack of provisioning for tough times – the threat of corporate blackmail will increase for those of you in business. Doing business in Nigeria or Africa is not for cowards. You must prepare like someone going to the war front. If you have the will and capacity to succeed as an entrepreneur, you must be always aware and take measures to protect your business from corporate blackmail. Most times, it is the work of small competitors who wish to see you go down or who have a desire to rubbish your credit rating or public image.’’

Referencing his experience in the earlier mentioned case involving Benjamin Joseph, Ekeh added: ‘‘Corporate blackmail has grown exponentially in recent years and often, the end purpose is extortion. I can confirm to you that there is no court case or indictment against me or any of my colleagues or my wife either with the Police, EFCC or any court in Nigeria or abroad. I decided from the first day I started business to be a child of trust economy and delete passion for money but instead, hold on to my passion for technology and that informed me in seeing myself as an only child even though I have other five successful siblings.

‘‘I am my greatest adviser and never had a privilege of a mentor outside my tough British-trained mother and humble father who was an only child of his parents. I concentrate more on why brilliant, good and hardworking persons fail in business in Africa but succeed in civilized countries. This informed why I stayed with tech business 360 degrees as I am in total control and the business does not lie. It’s either you are right or wrong. Never concede to blackmailers. Be humble but launch out with confidence as far as you have content to deliver. Blackmailers don’t last in the business.

‘‘This is why my blackmailer failed because there is digitally undisputable proof. I run a tech family – my wife and all my five kids are in tech and comfortable. If you are in the tech business, wealth becomes a right, no matter how old we are. Rich guys in tech all over the world don’t make noise because there is no reason to do so. Successful entrepreneurs don’t make noise because they worked for it. It is not an inheritance,’’ Ekeh stated.

When asked by one of the participants on how to prevent or guard against corporate blackmail, Ekeh submitted that entrepreneurs must remain above board in their dealings, while also putting in efforts to investigate and understand where the threat is coming from.

‘‘It is your right to know and in future, I will tell the full story. You must embrace integrity and have well-defined processes and procedures guiding your business. It saves you a lot of headaches. But even when you have done your best in these areas, you may still be targeted. Therefore, you must investigate your accuser or blackmailer to fully understand what is at play. It could cost you some money, but technology has made it easier and could be a great lesson. I can tell you that staff of our Group learned a lot from this experience.

‘‘My blackmailer had claimed first that no computers were supplied to FIRS by my company on his behalf and in seconds, we produced original serial numbers and delivery note and they tallied with what FIRS received. Zero mistake. Later, he claimed he was not aware of the contract, and in seconds FIRS produced a letter of authority he issued to his partner, Princess Kama physically with a copy of his passport and he now agreed under oath.

‘‘He now claimed the account opened was forged and a forensic analysis report conducted by Police SFU confirmed that he indeed signed the Board resolution.  My staff had nothing to do with opening of his bank account, but our system dictates that you do a Board resolution including two of our staff as majority signatories until we are paid and after the transaction is complete and we are paid, they will resign. We instituted this after few of such companies we funded defrauded us. We have a team of first-class lawyers and the tech to back up our structures and systems and we have done these for over 30 years. This Citadel case is the only blackmail we are tolerating. TD is the largest company in my Group and possibly in the IT Distribution sector in Africa and industry players know this. The N170m in question is an insult to TD and I am sure he knew before trying his luck with us.

‘‘We have enough to run all our companies globally. We may be a local company, but I have tried my little best based on some defined principles. I have never applied for overdraft in any bank, nor has any of my companies, not to talk about loan, so we are technically not desperate financially to cheat. When you are a child of trust economy, integrity is everything, so why do you have to borrow if you are trusted by your global partners and they extend any amount of credits to you? African entrepreneurs cannot scale in business pledging houses and share certificates as collateral to raise cash to do business. The financial institutions are ready to help but you have to earn their trust. When you make commitments, sweat and keep to them as your past transaction records have a lot to do with the decision to support you.

‘‘I have not taken alcohol or smoked from childhood and frankly I don’t know why, so, I don’t have bad dreams. I don’t have a single enemy in my life but you must run into storm sometimes, but never contain blackmailers. Even Benjamin Joseph shall become a born again soon and one of my best friends and I shall be glad to assist him in any little way. Life is very simple. But you must work hard to earn.

 ‘‘I only became aware of this particular case involving Benjamin Joseph and his company, Citadel Oracle Concepts two years after it started. It was a business transaction with Technology Distributions (TD) and did not, in any way involve Zinox. Yet, each time he goes to press, he mentions Leo Stan Ekeh and Zinox. TD is the pioneer and biggest distributors of tech products in Sub-Saharan Africa representing the biggest global brands in Africa. His mandate was to destroy my global credit rating so that our multinational partners could terminate relationships, but he failed. This is why I always advise entrepreneurs to build themselves as personal collateral during their incubation period and then their business as corporate collateral. In summary, be a child of trust economy and keep your word, and trust me, no person or financial institution can mess around with you. I am a living testimony and this is why I never sued Benjamin Joseph.

‘‘To start with, I have never met this man in my life. Neither has my wife met him in person. Even when he made attempts to meet with me, I rebuffed him because by that time, I had investigated him and discovered where he was headed. In tech business, we do not pay blackmailers because technology does not lie and that is the biggest mistake he has made in his life. Every lie he has told has been substantiated against him.

‘‘When he pressed on with his media campaign against me, I took the pains of hiring local and foreign detectives which cost me huge amount of money to investigate first my staff who handled the transaction, and then Benjamin Joseph, his company and his relationship with his partner, Princess Kama and her uncle, Chief Igbokwe and the discovery further strengthened my resolve not to engage him. Yes, it cost me big money, but it was money well spent. Remember, I mentioned there is often a small masquerade involved in such cases. I say small masquerade because someone bigger than you cannot spend his time blackmailing you for extortion.

 ‘‘If you have made up your mind to be a successful entrepreneur in Africa, you must be knowledge packed to alter your destiny positively, be ready to take pains before pleasure, implement auditable financial and legal structures backed with strong technology and most importantly, be spiritually strong. Most digital entrepreneurs in Africa fast more than most pastors in Africa. It is creative war like this that delays progress, but you will get there. These inconveniences shall gradually be deleted in the next ten years with the power of technology.

‘‘Blackmailers have, with the backing of some innocent press successfully destroyed our politicians, public office holders and their families as heads of criminal gangs, no matter how decent they are, and now they are gradually destroying wealth creators. Africa would be gone if they are allowed to succeed with our corporates,’’ the Zinox Chairman warned.

Furthermore, Ekeh shared some insights into the saga which has seen Benjamin Joseph facing an ongoing criminal trial for giving the Federal Government false information.

‘‘Benjamin Joseph’s company was among 13 others which TD Africa extended a credit facility to for supply of laptops to the FIRS. To guard against creditors making away with funds extended to them, TD insists on opening a joint account with each creditor so that they are fully aware of when the fund for the contract is paid. After he was paid, Joseph attempted to divert TD’s money but his partner, one Princess Kama refused. From my investigations, he (Joseph) had wanted to marry her but they could not agree.

‘‘However, when she objected to his attempt to divert the funds, Joseph petitioned the Police and EFCC, initially claiming that his company was fraudulently used to execute the contract without his knowledge and that nothing was supplied. This was despite the fact that he gave his partner a duly signed letter of authority and his passport to act on his behalf in executing the FIRS contract. But investigations revealed that the FIRS confirmed that all the laptops were supplied with the serial numbers intact.

‘‘He later fell out with his partner over profit sharing for the contract which Afe Babalola SAN, his lawyer at the time intervened but could not resolve. According to Princess Kama, Mr. Benjamin Joseph demanded all the profit from the business and the lady refused. If he was not aware and his company was fraudulently used to execute the contract and his signature was forged as he claimed, why was he later asking for a larger share of the proceeds?’’ Ekeh queried.

In conclusion, while advising his audience to learn from his experience and never give in to cheap blackmail, he stated that cowards don’t succeed in Africa as entrepreneurs, even as he expressed confidence that the course of justice would eventually be done in the matter.


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Ugo Onwuaso is an ICT enthusiast. He believes technology should be used for general good. He holds a Master of Public Administration (MPA) degree from the Lagos state University. Dear Reader, Your support matters. But we believe that technology makes life more exciting and helps improve the lives of people around Nigeria and indeed the world. That is why, we have devoted our energy to independent reportage of technology and finance and how they affect lives. Our incisive and analytical view of how technology news affects the daily life help individuals and organizations make up their minds. Quality journalism costs money. Today, we're asking that you support us to do more. Kindly support our effort to deliver technology and finance journalism to everyone in the world. Donate as little as N1,000. Bank transfers can be made to: UBA Plc 1017156876 Communication Week Media Ltd

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Nigeria Week Ahead: Inflation, Oil and Naira in focus

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By Lukman Otunuga, Senior Market Analyst at FXTM.

A flurry of high-risk events may pump global financial markets with fresh volatility this week.

Top-tier data, including US Inflation, the unofficial start of earnings season, and US Congress Crypto Week,” among other themes, could spell fresh opportunities.

Amidst this, uncertainty over global trade will add to the mix after President Donald Trump threatened 35% tariffs on the EU and Mexico over the weekend.

Regarding US inflation, this may impact bets around Fed cuts in the second half of this year. Markets are forecasting CPI to rise 2.6% from 2.4% in the prior month, with core CPI rising to 2.9% from 2.8%. Signs of rising prices may shave bets around the Fed cutting interest rates – boosting the dollar as a result.

Closer to home, Nigerias June CPI data due July 15 is expected to show signs of cooling inflationary pressures. This could offer some relief to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) which aggressively hiked interest rates throughout 2024. Inflation is expected to have eased to 21.4% year-on-year from 23% in May – marking the 4th consecutive month of decline. However, the slowdown is largely a technical adjustment aided by the recent gains in the Naira amid higher non-oil exports and a weaker dollar.

The CBN is scheduled to meet later this month and will most likely keep rates unchanged at 27.5%.

One key challenge for the country will be how to re-tweak its budget for lower oil prices. Indeed, the budget was based around oil production at 2 million barrels and oil prices of $75. Brent is trading around $70 with the nation producing 1.544m b/d of crude in May according to OPEC. Nigeria is hoping to raise production to 1.9m b/d by the end of 2025. But its impact on the economy may be muted if oversupply and tepid demand keep oil prices subdued. Brent is up 4% this month but still down over 6% since the start of 2025.


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EFCC Re-Arraigns Echefu, TStv CEO for Allegedly Defrauding Ex-Minister of N1Bn, $1.3m

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Bright Echefu, chief executive officer, Telecom Satellites Limited (TStv), and three co‑defendants appeared before the Federal High Court in Abuja yesterday on an amended twelve‑count indictment brought by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The charges allege money laundering, tax evasion, and investment fraud involving approximately ₦1 billion and $1.3 million.

EFCC Re-Arraigns Echefu, TStv CEO for Allegedly Defrauding Ex-Minister of N1Bn, $1.3m

Bright Echefu, chief executive officer, TStv

In addition to Echefu, the defendants are TStv Executive Director, Felix Igboanuga, Telecom Satellites Limited itself, and Briechberg Investment Ltd.

According to the April 5, 2025, amended charge sheet the EFCC accuses the quartet of defrauding Mr. Tanimu Turaki, Managing Director of Kalsiyam Global and former Minister of Special Duties, alongside BYI General Limited, out of a combined investment of ₦1 billion and $1.3 million. The commission has also included a ₦66 million alleged tax default.

The revised indictment lists:

Count 2: ₦33,909,542.47 in unremitted Company Income Tax

Count 3: ₦13,519,382.00 in unremitted VAT

Count 4: ₦19,488,860.00 in unremitted PAYE

Counts 5–12: Various fraud‑related transactions, including ₦380 million from Kalsiyam Farm, ₦400 million from BYI General Ltd and $1.35 million in loans secured under false pretences.

All defendants pleaded not guilty once again. At the hearing before Justice Mohammed Umar, Echefu’s lead counsel, Senior Advocate Eyitayo Fatogun, informed the court of ongoing settlement discussions with the complainants.

“There are moves to settle this matter and there was a meeting on Saturday between myself and the Nominal Complainant as it is about investment,” Fatogun stated.

“The Defendants have paid some money and I was thinking that the matter be adjourned for report of settlement.”

EFCC counsel A.S. Tomwell confirmed receipt of those payments but emphasized the necessity of entering a plea before considering any adjournment. The court thus ordered the formal reading of the charges and adjourned the trial to October 15, 2025.


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More Woes for MultiChoice as Ghana Orders 30% Price Cut

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The government of Ghana has ordered MultiChoice Ghana to reduce DSTV subscription costs by 30%, noting the significant appreciation of local currency and growing dissatisfaction with current rates.

This comes as Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) has fined MultiChoice Nigeria ₦766,242,500 for breaching the Nigeria Data Protection Act (NDPA).

According to Mr Babatunde Bamigboye, head Legal, Enforcement & Regulations, NDPC, the investigation, which commenced in the second quarter of 2024, was triggered by suspected breach of privacy rights of Multichoice subscribers and illegal cross-border transfer of personal data of Nigerians.

MultiChoice, which operates across Africa, continues to lose revenue and subscribers.

Ghana’s minister of communication, digital technology, and innovation, Samuel Nartey George, made the call last week during a meeting with a DSTV team led by Dr. Keabetswe Modimoeng, group executive for regulatory and corporate affairs.

According to a ministry statement, George said the government’s responsibility is to respond to Ghanaians’ concerns over high DSTV pricing and outdated content offers.

The Minister pointed out that despite a 30% increase in the cedi’s value over the past five months; DSTV prices have not reflected the positive economic trend.

‎The statement went on to say the minister is therefore calling for a 30% price reduction to match the cedi’s appreciation and to pass on economic benefits to consumers.

According to the statement, while MultiChoice has implemented promotional packages, people prefer a direct price reduction over temporary discounts.

George said feedback from public engagements revealed that many users are dissatisfied with DSTV’s content, describing it as outdated save for Premier League football. They also believe that the current cost is not justified.

‎”To address the concerns, he said MultiChoice Ghana has until July 21 to formally respond to the government’s request. The Minister expects a concrete proposal by this date, allowing time for further engagement before the end of July,” the statement said.

‎In response, Dr. Modimoeng acknowledged the government’s concerns and expressed gratitude for the opportunity to dialogue.

The MultiChoice team reacted positively to the minister’s request and committed to provide input by July 21st. They emphasised the need of balancing public interest and business sustainability.

This is the continent’s latest pricing conundrum for the pan-African pay-TV business, following fee disputes with Nigerian and Malawian authorities.

In Ghana, the demand for price cuts comes as MultiChoice is under pressure, having lost revenue and subscribers in the financial year that ended March 31, 2025. Last month, the company announced its financial year-end results.

In a statement to shareholders last month on the Stock Exchange News Service, the company said the past two financial years have been a period of significant financial disruption for economies, corporates and consumers across Sub-Saharan Africa due to challenging macro-economic factors.

Combined with the impact of structural industry changes in video entertainment, such as the rise of piracy, streaming services and social media, this has materially affected the overall performance of the MultiChoice Group, it noted.

Over this period, MultiChoice said the group lost 2.8 million active linear subscribers and had to absorb a R10.2 billion negative impact on its top line due to local currency depreciation against the US dollar.

For the year, the company reveals that linear subscribers were down 1.2 million, or 8% year-on-year, to 14.5 million active subscribers, with the loss evenly split between South African (600 000) and rest of Africa (600 000).

 


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