Defamation: News Express Publisher Demands N1bn, Apology from Haleems Founder Over Domain Suspension - ITREALMS

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The Publisher of News Express, Mr. Isaac Umunna, has formally issued a demand for a written apology and N1 billion in damages from Dr. Halimat Adenike Tejuosho, the Founder of Haleems Integrated Services Limited, following allegations of defamation and the "unjust disruption" of his media operations, reports ITREALMS.

In a legal petition dated December 30, 2025, and made available to ITREALMS, Umunna’s legal counsel, Adewale & Adewale LP, detailed how the news portal, [https://newsexpressngr.com], was abruptly suspended on September 1, 2025, after Dr. Tejuosho reportedly misled the domain registrant, HostAfrica. 

Defamation: Why Falana must apologise to Zinox - ITREALMS

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The management of the foremost African digital conglomerate, Zinox Technologies Limited, has demanded a public apology from Mr. Femi Falana SAN over alleged defamation and reputational injury inflicted on the company and its representatives by Falana and his client, Benjamin Joseph, the CEO of Citadel Oracle Concept Limited, an Ibadan-based computer firm.

In a statement on Sunday, Zinox referenced recent news items in the media relating to certain charges filed by Falana, purporting to act on a fiat donated to him by the Attorney General and Minister of Justice of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Mr. Lateef Fagbemi SAN, whom Zinox said may not have been properly briefed.

Defamation against Pastor Olukoya: London court refuses Maureen Badejo's appeal - ITREALMS

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The London-based Vlogger, Ms Maureen Badejo has lost an appeal in a London over the defamatory case against her in respect to several defamatory statements she had made against Dr. Daniel Olukoya and his wife, Dr. (Mrs) Folashade Olukoya, reports ITREALMS.

Dr. Olukoya, ITREALMS recalled, is the founder and General Overseer of Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries (worldwide).

N10B defamation suit: Ugwuonye fails to file response

ITREALMS:

... Aiyedogbon presents electronic-evidence

Barely Eighteen months after being served with court papers in a N10 billion defamation suit by ex-husband of the missing Abuja woman, Charity Aiyedogbon, Mr. David Aiyedogbon, Lagos-based lawyer, Emeka Ugwuonye, is yet to file his response to the suit, just as his trial continues, reports ITRealms.

Fortifying his evidence on Wednesday, ITRealms reports that Mr. Aiyedogbon had earlier presented an electronic evidence to support existing volumes of documentary evidence in support of his suit.

Responding to questions from Ugwuonye on the efforts he has made in searching for the missing woman, Aiyedogbon informed the Court that the Police is handling the investigation, adding that four persons, including the defendant, Ugwuonye, are already being prosecuted for their alleged involvement in the sudden disappearance of the woman.

“So far, a lot has been done. We reported the matter to the Police and Police investigations led to the arrest and charging to court of four people, including you, Emeka Ugwuonye, for being complicit in the matter. By my efforts, the Police conducted a DNA test on the lifeless dismembered body you earlier posted on Facebook and identified as that of Charity. Police investigations led to the recovery of the missing Charity’s car and two handsets in your home state, Enugu. Even this suit, wherein you are a defendant is part of my efforts to look for Charity.  

"I brought you to this Court to enable you produce the overwhelming evidence you claim you have; you said severally that Charity is dead, alleging that you have an overwhelming evidence that I killed her; and whether the defense of justification will avail you. I want you to present your overwhelming evidence before this Court. Emeka, after collecting money from members of the public, you have not taken any step in looking for Charity. I want you to tell this Court even one thing you have done in looking for Charity. You have not made any effort in this regard. Emeka, you have never reported this matter to the Police. You also have not presented your overwhelming evidence anywhere, not even to the Police. You only reported it on Facebook. The only thing you have done is to attack David Aiyegbodon,” he said.

While the cross examination was going on, the presiding Judge, Justice Peter Kekemeke cautioned Mr. Ugwuonye, stating that all the questions he raised were not relevant to the matter before the court.

After over two hours of questions and answers, the Judge reiterated that all the respondent’s questions were not relevant to the defamation suit before the Court. He however adjourned the matter to 28th of June, 2018, for continuation of the cross examination, while advising the respondent to prepare to ask questions that are relevant to the issues before the court.

It would be recalled that Mr. David Aiyedogbon approached the Court to seek redress following the alleged refusal of Ugwuonye to desist from posting materials he considered defamatory on his Facebook group, The Due Process Advocates. He also wrote Mr. Ugwuonye through his lawyers, demanding an apology and retraction, but he refused to listen, prompting Mr. Aiyedogbon to approach the court to seek redress.

Ugwuonye had falsely accused Mr. Aiyedogbon of having a hand in the sudden disappearance of his estranged wife, Charity Aiyedogbon; an unsubstantiated claim that compelled Mr. Aiyedogbon to institute the N10b suit against him.

In addition to the Ten Billion Naira damages, the Suit, with number CV/2750/16, between David Aiyedogbon (Plaintiff) and Emeka Ugwuonye (Defendant) on defamation of character, before Justice Peter Kekemeke of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court 14, Apo, Abuja; also prays that the defendant be ordered to pay for the cost of the litigation.

The Plaintiff is also seeking an order of perpetual injunction “restraining the Defendant, his Agents, Privies, Associates or whosoever called” from making further defamatory publications against him and his family members.

Mr. Ugwuonye is accused of posting severally on The Due Process Advocates (DPA), a Facebook group, claiming to have evidence of the involvement of the missing Charity Aiyedogbon’s ex-husband, David Aiyedogbon in her sudden disappearance.

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Pix: Late Mrs. Charity Aiyedogbon

N2bn defamation: Zinox drags Premium Times to court

ITRealms:

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 15^th 2016 publication titled: EFCC quizzes Zinox Computers Boss, 4 others over alleged 170 million contract fraud; an October 9^th 2016 publication titled: Attorney General wades into 170 million contract fraud allegedly involving Zinox Computers and a May 2^nd 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 15^th, 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

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Defamation: Zinox may drag Premium Times, Citadel Oracle to court

ITRealms:

Zinox Technologies Limited has given a seven-day deadline to the publishers of Premium Times, a local online publication to retract a series of defamatory publications against the company and its officials or face a legal action, reports ITRealms.

Head, Corporate Communications at Zinox, Gideon Ayogu, disclosed this to ITRealms quoting the Zinox Chairman, Leo Stan Ekeh as saying insisting he never met with Mr. Benjamin Joseph, the Managing Director of Citadel Oracle Concepts and that neither Ekeh or any other official of Zinox has had any form of business transaction with the said company. According to him, this raises questions on the motive behind Premium Times’ continued campaign of calumny against Ekeh which appears a cheap attempt at extortion.

Challenging Premium Times to publish any proof of transactions between Citadel Oracle Concepts Ltd. and Zinox or proof of any criminal charge against Ekeh, Zinox or any officials of the company in relation to the said stories, Ayogu further disclosed that there is no evidence of an indictment by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), FIRS, the Nigerian Police or any law enforcement agency against Ekeh or Zinox Technologies.

Ayogu stated that Premium Times had enjoyed a holiday-of-sorts in their on-going smear campaign against Ekeh chiefly because Joseph’s prosecution is pending before a competent court of law and as a law-abiding corporate citizen, the management of Zinox wishes the law to have its course and does not intend to interfere with the course of justice. 

Also, Ekeh's well-known soft spot for the media as a pioneer of digital publishing in West Africa with his first company, Task Systems, which Premium Times seems to have mistaken for weakness. In his view, Zinox would rather focus on its mission of digital innovation than be distracted by blackmail.

“Upon reading the first story written by Premium Times, the management of Zinox wanted to sue the medium and Citadel Oracle Concepts but the Chairman cautioned that there was hunger in the land and that his checks on Mr. Joseph showed a man desperate to make ends meet.  Hence, we were advised not to waste our time. Every other media organization in Nigeria whom Joseph approached had investigated his claims and found no iota of truth in them and as a result, had refused to publish except Premium Times, a medium that is apparently in partnership with him possibly for a destructive intent.

“I personally called the writer, Bassey Udo on two occasions and requested him to verify his clams at the EFCC or Police Headquarters Abuja, or the Police Special Fraud Unit (SFU) Ikoyi, but he was not interested and instead chose to keep putting out one defamatory article after another based on fabricated stories handed down to him by Mr. Joseph.  I made it clear to him that Ekeh will never part with a kobo so he should stop wasting his time and degrading his publication. 

"As a civilized corporate citizen, we have taken this as a final responsible step for Premium Times to make public any agreement, transaction or link between Citadel Computers and Zinox Computers or any staff of Zinox computers since Zinox was launched in 2010. For instance, in their first publication, Premium Times claimed that they saw bank documents which ‘showed transfers of monies between FIRS account at CBN and the fake account as well as approvals by top officials of Zinox Technologies for disbursements from the account to Zinox bank account and those of the suspects.’

“We want to make it clear that Zinox did not receive any such amount in any of its accounts, and hereby challenge Premium Times to produce such document showing or bearing the name of Zinox or the Zinox account.   

“The on-going case for which Joseph is currently being prosecuted is between Citadel Oracle Concepts and another company which our Chairman has shares in. That company is Technology Distributions (TD), the biggest ICT products distributor in Sub-Saharan African representing major IT brands like HP, Lenovo, Dell, Microsoft and many others. 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.

“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. Also, Leo Stan Ekeh was not involved in the said transaction and the investigations. It was only in the last petition to the EFCC that he was asked to come because Benjamin Joseph mischievously mentioned his name in the petition to the Vice President. But in all his subsequent sponsored publications in the media (print and online), Benjamin Joseph targeted only Zinox and Ekeh. Why? The answer is clear.

“Following from the foregoing, it is clear that the purpose and objective of Joseph and Citadel Oracle Concepts Ltd. is to attempt to persecute, harass and blackmail us into agreeing with their unfounded claims, relying on the false information that the Board Resolution was forged. This intention is proved by the robust publicity they have given this case and castigating the person of our Chairman, Leo Stan Ekeh, OFR.

“This is why in the online publications, the photographs of Ekeh and no other person 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.

“Citadel Oracle Concept Limited was one of the many IT resellers awarded a contract to supply HP laptops at FIRS in 2012 but had no funds to execute it and like few  others, had approached TD who are authorized HP distributors in Nigeria with the help of his consultant Princess Kama whose Uncle, Chief Onny Igbokwe has been a long term reseller of TD to assist in supplying the laptops at a pre-agreed invoice value. Our investigations showed that his representative, Princess Kama had previously executed several other bids on his behalf. We also have a copy of a Letter of Authority which Joseph issued to FIRS with copies of his international passport accepting the contract and appointing Princess Kama as his authorized representative to handle the transaction. This is verifiable at FIRS.

“In view of previous bad experience and in order to avoid exposing the business to bad loans, TD had nominated its staff – Mr. Chris Eze Ozims and Mrs. Shade Oyebode – to be signatories to an account opened for the purpose of disbursement of funds as regards the contract, solely as security for the laptops supplied on credit.  Upon payment of the sum for the contract, TD had gone ahead to deduct the invoiced sum of the supplied laptops and had its staff resigned as signatories to the account.”

Continuing, Ayogu disclosed that after a disagreement between Joseph and his representative, Princess Kama over the sharing of the proceeds, Mr. Joseph reported to Chief Afe Babalola Chambers that his company was used to defraud the FIRS by Princess Kama and her allies and that the laptops were not supplied. When the lady narrated the true story with documentary proof including a letter of authority signed by him, he withdrew from Afe Babalola Chambers and petitioned the EFCC, Lagos who investigated and saw no merit in his complaint. He then lodged another complaint with Special Fraud Unit (SFU) of the Nigerian Police, Ikoyi and told same lies, alleging that his signature on the board resolution to open the account at Access Bank was forged.  

The SFU launched an investigation at FIRS offices and confirmed that the laptops were supplied with serial numbers intact. However, since the crux of the matter was the denial by Joseph of not signing the Board Resolution to open the account with which the FIRS remitted payment for the supplied HP laptops, of which Mr. Ozims and Mrs. Oyebode were signatories on behalf of TD, the Police sent the documents for forensic analysis to determine its veracity. The evidence proved that the documents were not forged, and were actually signed by him. Hence, the warrants of arrest the Police had issued against Mr. Ozims (a First Class lawyer and Company Secretary of TD) and Mrs. Oyebode (a Chartered Accountant and Executive Director of TD) based on Joseph’s complaints were made on misleading information and ought not to have been issued.

“After a few months, he wrote the office of the Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) laying same claims against Princess Kama and TD without informing the DIG that he had earlier reported to the EFCC and SFU, Lagos. The Police again launched a nationwide investigation which confirmed all items supplied with serial numbers. When the Police Headquarters discovered that Joseph has wasted their time and limited resources on a false claim, the Inspector General of Police arraigned him for deceit and false petitioning at an Abuja court under Charge Number CR/216/16 at the FCT High Court.

“Upon inauguration of the new administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, Joseph again wrote the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo (SAN) that his company was used to defraud the Federal Government of over N200m, and that no laptops were supplied to the FIRS. The VP minuted to the EFCC Chairman. The Procurement Fraud Unit of the EFCC again investigated and found every item supplied and FIRS showed all products supplied with serial numbers nationwide. It was at this point that he partnered with Premium Times to launch a media blackmail against our Chairman, Ekeh and Zinox which had no links to the matter on ground, probably with an intent at extortion.

“What we found funny while this prolonged attempt at extortion was going on were several calls by faceless numbers to our Chairman requesting him to try and resolve this issue with huge sums of money to save his hard-earned name and that of Zinox. These calls only ceased after he warned the callers that he will track and unearth their identity with digital satellites and report them to the appropriate authorities.

“In conclusion, why is Premium Times which is headquartered in Abuja not able to walk into the offices of the EFCC, Police Headquarters, Abuja, the FIRS and Attorney General’s Office and confirm the claim of their partner, Joseph. We have received several appeals from some industry practitioners to discontinue the criminal prosecution of Joseph at an Abuja court under Charge Number CR/216/16, we wish to inform them that we did not sue Mr. Joseph as it was the Police that charged him for misleading them, and we would not wish to waste our resources on a man that we do not know. It is for the court to determine if he is innocent or not, and not for Premium Times to embark on a media trial of the case.”

Uboshe Uboshe/GEE

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