Police Prosecutor, Lough SAN Faces LPPC Panel Over Alleged Misconduct Charges For Shielding Zinox Officials In N170m Fraud Case

The Legal Practitioners’ Privileges Committee (LPPC) of the Supreme Court of Nigeria has summoned the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Citadel Oracle Concept Limited, Benjamin Joseph, for hearing of a petition he filed against a police prosecutor at the Force Headquarters Abuja, Simon Lough, for alleged malicious prosecution and denial of justice.

Joseph had on November 16, 2021, petitioned Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN)/Chairman, Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee (LPPC), Supreme Court of Nigeria, against Lough alleging professional misconduct through malicious and wilful concealment of documents in a case with charge No: FCT/HC CR/216/16 between Inspector General of Police Vs Benjamin Joseph.

Joseph alleged that Lough on June 1, 2016 “maliciously charged” him for giving false information in the criminal suit between him and the IGP.

According to him, Lough “acted as a syndicate and agent to the individuals and companies that our company made a report against and who were indicted and recommended for prosecution for the wrong done against my company, Citadel Oracle Concept Ltd.

“But rather than following the recommendation of the investigating team, he compromised and instead arraigned Mr. Benjamin Joseph for prosecution against the investigation reports and the legal advice of the DPP that clearly indicted all the suspects.

“He intentionally suppressed the submission of vital and sensitive documents that will compel the DIG to forward the case file to the Attorney General of the Federation.”

The petition was sequel to Lough’s involvement in a case between Joseph and the Chairman of Zinox Group, Leo Stan Ekeh, his wife, Chioma, and nine others over alleged N170.3 million contract fraud.

Ekeh had denied he, his wife, Chioma, and nine others were facing prosecution over their roles in the contract fraud, but Joseph had accused Ekeh and Zinox Group of lying by denying any knowledge and their involvement in the fraud.

The Ibadan-based ICT retail businessman cited several instances in which Mr Ekeh, his wife, Chioma, and some top officials of Zinox Group and its affiliate, Technology Distribution Limited were directly and indirectly linked with crime.

He also released documents from the Force Criminal Investigation Department ( FCID) report No CR: 3000/X//FHQ/ABJ/SEB /VOL41 dated 7th April 2015 signed by one CSP Olayinka Ajeigbe indicting Leo Stan Ekeh and other suspects and recommended their prosecution.

Joseph had said that findings from detailed investigations revealed that apart from the syndicate hijacking the contract previously awarded to his company and executing using his company’s name without consent and knowledge, they connived with Access Bank officials to use the corporate information, including a Board of Directors resolution dated 18th December 2012, which they forged, including his signature, and used to open the fake account through which the proceeds of the fraud were paid.

He said Ekeh’s wife, Chioma, was the one who presided over the distribution of the funds to members of the syndicate and ran the account into debit, deliberately to ensure the dead account would not be traced.

Joseph had said that although suspects volunteered written statements owing up to the crime, the police refused to carry out the recommendation containing its investigation report since 2014 for them to be arraigned and prosecuted.

He accused the former DIG FCIID, Solomon Arase, who later became the IGP, of using his positions to shield the suspects and frustrate efforts to get the police to prosecute them.

He said that in October 2016, the suspects filed an application urging the court to dismiss the case against them, but he said the then presiding Judge, Justice Femi Adeniyi on May 2, 2017 dismissed all their preliminary objections, insisting they have a case to answer.

On assumption of office as IGP in 2015, Joseph said he petitioned IGP Arase again to remind him of the need to release the case file for the prosecution of the suspects.

But rather than do so, he said Arase prior to his exit from office in 2016 approved his trial on a one-count charge of false petitioning of the police.

Joseph also accused Ekeh of lying after he denied that there was an ongoing prosecution by the Federal Government against him, his wife and senior officials of Zinox Group.

Recall how Femi Falana, SAN, filed a 17-count charge in September 9, 2022 at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Gwagwalada by Joseph argued that if there was ongoing prosecution against them over the matter, why did they file an application for their defence on October 6,2022.

Joseph had said, “The question is if there was no ongoing prosecution in court anywhere against them for the crime; why are they filing for their defence?

“Again, they claimed the AGF reversed his previous directive to the DPP to take over my illegal trial by the police. This is another self-serving lie. Why would the AGF give a fiat to a Senior lawyer to prosecute criminals based on my complaint and turn around to approve that the police should prosecute me?

“When the AGF gave the directive to the DPP to take over the case from the police, he did so through a letter he personally signed and addressed to the court.

“But at the last sitting of the court, during which it was expected the AGF would give the legal opinion to terminate the case against me, the court was shocked to find the police prosecutor, Simon Lough, show up without the legal advice of the AGF nor the appearance of State Counsel from the office of the AGF.

“The reaction by the court was surprising, because having handed the case file to the DPP for almost a year, the police had no business defying the subsisting order of the AGF, by allowing its prosecutor to attempt to again continue with the illegal trial.”

Joseph in his petition also identified Lough’s alleged professional misconduct to include “Dubiously charging him on a trumped-up charge of false petitioning of letter to the DIG dated 3 rd July, 2014 and concealed the investigation report by CSP Olayinka Ajeigbe that upheld our petition of 3rd July, 2014 to be just and true.

“He intentionally did this to please his pay masters and robbed us of justice.

“Despite the DPP legal advice No. DPP/ADV/1009/14 indicating that the DPP has taken over the case and indicted seven (7) suspects in the light of prima-facie evidence against them. Yet, this could not prevent Mr. Simon Lough from carrying out his illegal actions.”

The hearing on his petition at the LPPC, Supreme Court was on November 28 and 30, on Thursday, Joseph said that “He (Lough) lied against me that I have been publishing the hearing of LPPC in many newspapers.

“I told the Panel that it is not true. They warned me not to publish and I told them that I cannot prevent any journalist from doing their constitutional responsibilities.”