High Court Rejects Application For Indefinite Adjournment In N170Million FIRS Contract Fraud Case Involving Zinox Limited, Others
The judge ordered that the case should commence on Thursday, April 17th and Tuesday, April 29, 2025.
ALagos High Court sitting at Tafawa Balewa Square, Onikan, and presided over by Hon. Justice T.B. Sunmonu on Thursday, March 27, 2025, declined to adjourn indefinitely a long-running civil suit filed by Citadel Oracle Concept Limited, despite pleas from two defendants invoking a previous N20 million judgment awarded to them in a related criminal case.
The judge ordered that the case should commence on Thursday, April 17th and Tuesday, April 29, 2025.
The 1st to 9th defendants are listed as Chief Onny S.O. Igbokwe, Princess O. Kama, Mrs. Folashade Oyebode, Mr. Chris Eze Ozims, Ad’mas Digital Technologies Limited, Zinox Telecommunication Limited, Pirovics Engineering Services Limited, Access Bank Plc, and Technology Distributions Limited, respectively.
In Suit No. LD/4335/2014, the 1st and 2nd defendants, Chief Onny S.O. Igbokwe, owner of Ad’mas Digital Technologies and Princess O. Kama, through their counsel Bimbo Kushanu, filed a Motion on Notice seeking an order for the court to adjourn the proceedings sine die—indefinitely—pending compliance with a Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court judgment delivered on February 24, 2021.
That earlier judgment, by Hon. Justice D.Z. Senchi in Criminal Charge No. FCT/HC/CR/244/2018, had discharged and acquitted the two defendants and ordered Benjamin Joseph, named in that case as nominal complainant, to pay N20 million in compensation.
“The Federal High Court’s judgment is valid, binding, and subsisting, as no appeal has been filed,” argued Kushanu.
“The claimant in this present suit is the alter ego of the same Benjamin Joseph and cannot seek justice while flouting a valid court order.”
Citing precedents such as CBN v. Olayato Aribo and APC v. Danladi Idris Karfi, Kushanu insisted the present proceedings amount to an abuse of the court process and urged the Lagos High Court to halt the case until the compensation is paid.
Joining the call were counsels for other defendants, including learned silk Mathew G. Burkaa, who described Benjamin Joseph as “a human agent and alter ego of the Claimant” and thus inseparable from the company bringing the present suit.
However, the Claimant, represented by A.S. Olutekun, opposed the motion, submitting that Citadel Oracle Concept Limited and Benjamin Joseph are legally distinct entities.
“Citadel Oracle is a corporate entity distinct from Mr. Joseph,” Olutekun stated.
“He is not a party to this suit, and no demand for payment has been made to the company. Moreover, an appeal was filed in 2023 challenging the Abuja judgment, although we regret the certified true copy of the appeal was not annexed in error.”
Olutekun further cited the celebrated UK case Salomon v. Salomon & Co Ltd (1897) to argue that a company is separate from its directors and that lifting the corporate veil must be justified in exceptional cases of fraud or abuse.
Justice Sunmonu, in a detailed ruling, agreed that a sine die adjournment is a discretionary measure not to be taken lightly.
“The law is settled that an application for adjournment sine die, though not a termination, is akin to placing the case in deep slumber,” she said, referencing Nicolas Madueke v. Michael Madueke (2011).
She stressed that such discretion must be exercised judiciously and that the applicants failed to present “sufficient material facts” to justify halting the suit indefinitely.
“No enforcement steps have been taken to recover the N20 million awarded. No contempt proceedings, no writ of execution, and the alleged linkage between Mr. Joseph and the claimant is speculative,” Justice Sunmonu noted.
The court also found that the failure to annex a certified true copy of the appeal notice weakened the claimant’s position, but it did not amount to sufficient cause to halt proceedings.
“In the absence of clear evidence tying the claimant to non-compliance, the court finds no basis to suspend proceedings. The application is hereby dismissed,” the judge ruled.
Background
Citadel Oracle Concept Limited, a company based in Ibadan, Nigeria, sued multiple defendants including individuals, technology firms, and a commercial bank over an alleged fraudulent diversion of a Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) contract.
The suit, initiated at the Lagos State High Court, outlines events beginning in April 2012, when Citadel Oracle responded to a Federal Inland Revenue Service call for prequalification to tender for the supply of ICT equipment. After meeting all requirements, the company was shortlisted.
Due to logistical challenges in submitting documents from Ibadan to Abuja, Citadel relied on the 2nd Defendant, a long-time friend of its Managing Director and a staff member of the 1st and 5th Defendants, to help submit documents and represent them during the tender process.
The company transferred funds to the 2nd Defendant’s First Bank account to cover the tender fee and other expenses.
The Claimant submitted a letter of contract acceptance and an authorisation letter naming the 2nd Defendant as their representative, based on her report that Citadel was likely to win the contract.
Subsequently, in December 2012, the 2nd Defendant arranged a meeting between Citadel’s Managing Director and the 1st Defendant in Lagos.
At this meeting, the 1st Defendant claimed to have influence over the FIRS and offered Citadel two proposals: either accept N15 million profit for one of the three awarded contract lots and forfeit the rest, or pay N85 million to secure all three lots. The Claimant rejected both options, citing concerns over corruption.
Following this rejection, the 1st Defendant threatened to block the contract’s award to Citadel. Citadel’s Managing Director then visited the 6th Defendant’s office—allegedly the entity with the final say on contract execution—where a senior staff confirmed their interest in the contract but was unaware of any developments.
Weeks later, the 2nd Defendant informed Citadel that the contract had been awarded to another unnamed company. This was viewed as a result of the Managing Director’s refusal to engage in the proposed corrupt dealings. Suspicion deepened when, at a church convention, the 2nd Defendant publicly testified about receiving a “huge contract,” without giving further details.
The Claimant alleges that the contract originally awarded to them was fraudulently diverted through a conspiracy involving several defendants, including Zinox Telecommunication, Technology Distributions Ltd, Access Bank Plc, and others.
They maintain that the 2nd Defendant abused her position of trust, misused company documents, and acted in concert with others to hijack the FIRS contract, thereby causing significant losses to Citadel.
Citadel seeks redress from the court for the alleged breach of trust, fraudulent misrepresentation, and illegal diversion of a federal contract.
The case is being adjudicated before the Lagos High Court following amendments to the statement of claim approved by Justice Femi Adeniyi on June 20, 2019.
