All Ford dealers charge a processing fee for purchasing a lease. They are going to get paid for their time and effort. Ford does require you to purchase from a dealer, it does not have to be the originating dealer.
I purchased a Ford off lease and called a few dealers. All of them charge a fee and some didn’t want to do it.
The dealer should have disclosed and you should have compared the numbers to the buyout from Ford.
Hope it works out for you!