The foremost Information and
Communications Technology (ICT) company, Zinox Technologies Limited, is
seeking the sum of N2B (Two Billion Naira) in a suit filed against PremiumTimes, an online news medium, for alleged defamation, reports ITRealms.
This follows a series of alleged
defamatory publications against the Zinox, its chairman, Leo Stan Ekeh and
other officials of the company.
Confirming this, the Head,
Corporate Communications, Gideon Ayogu, said that in a joint suit filed by the
law chambers of Chief Chukwuma Ekomaru (SAN) against Premium Times Services
Limited; the medium’s Publisher/Chief Executive Officer, Dapo Olorunyomi;
Managing Editor, Musikilu Mojeed and Reporter/Head, Business and Economy Desk,
Bassey Udo who authored the publications.
ITRealms recalled that recently, the management
of Zinox had threatened Premium Times but offered a seven-day deadline to the
publishers 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 Premium Times 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.
Therefore, ITRealms gathered that Zinox held the
publications were 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.”
PremiumTimes is expected to appear
before the court within eight days after the service of the court processes on
them.
Uboshe Uboshe/GEE
ITREALMS ... everything news digitally!
No comments:
Post a Comment