$2bn Arms Deal Saga: Raymond Dokpesi Remanded by Court After First Day of Trial

 

 

The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, on Wednesday, December 10, ordered that founder of Daar Communications Plc., Chief Raymond Dokpesi, be remanded in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, pending the determination of his bail application today.

 

The owner of African Independent Television, AIT, and Raypower Radio, was arraigned before the court by the Federal Government which brought a criminal charge of N2.1bn money laundering crime against him.

 

He had earlier pleaded not guilty to the 6-count criminal charge, which also involved breach of public trust and procurement fraud. Dokpesi had been in custody of EFCC in the past eight days facing interrogation from operatives of the anti-graft agency on the huge sums he allegedly collected from the office of the former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki.

 

In the charge sheet, signed by Aliyu Yusuf, Deputy Director, Legal and Prosecution Department of EFCC, the accused was alleged to have between October 2014 and March 2015 conducted procurement fraud by fraudulently receiving N2,120,000,000 into the account of Daar Investment and Holding Company for the funding of media activities for the 2015 presidential election campaign of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

 

The alleged offence is contrary to section 58 (4) (b) of the Public Procurement Act 2007 and punishable under section 58 (6) and 7 of the same Act. Part of the 6-count charge reads: “That you Dr. Raymond Dokpesi and Daar Investment and Holding Company Limited between October 2014 and 19 March, 2015 in Abuja, conducted procurement fraud by means of fraudulent and corrupt act, to wit: receipt of payment into the account of Daar Investment and Holding Company Limited with First Bank of Nigeria Plc. of public funds in the sum of N2,120,000,000 from the account of the office of National Security Adviser, NSA, with the Central Bank of Nigeria for the funding of media activities for the 2015 presidential election campaign for the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and you thereby committed an offence contrary to section 58 (4) (b) of the Public Procurement Act, 2007 and punishable under Section 58 (6) & (7) of the same Act”.

“That you Dr. Raymond Dokpesi and Daar Investment and Holding Company Limited between October 2014 and 19 March, 2015 in Abuja, entered into a purported contract on presidential media initiative and received payment in the sum of N2,120,000,000 into the account of Daar Investment and Holding Company Limited with First Bank of Nigeria Plc. from the account of the office of National Security Adviser, NSA, with the Central Bank of Nigeria on account of the purported contract without a ‘Certificate of No Objection to Contract Award’ duly issued by Public Procurement Bureau and you thereby committed an offence contrary to section 16 (1) (b), (4) & (5) of the Public Procurement Act, 2007 and punishable under Section 58 (6) of the same Act.”

 

Attempt by counsel to the accused, Chief Mike Ozekhome, SAN, to move application for his bail yesterday was unsuccessful as the prosecution counsel, Mr. Rotimi Jacobs, SAN, insisted that he had just been served with a copy of the bail application. Jacobs told the trial judge, Justice Gabriel Kolawole, that he needed time to study and react to the fundamental issues raised by the accused person in the bail application.

 

By consent of the two lawyers, Justice Kolawole fixed today for argument on whether to grant the bail to Dokpesi or not. However, the trial of the charge has been fixed for January 17, 18 and February 2 and 3, 2016.