BREAKING: Court Discharges, Acquits Daar Communications Founder, Raymond Dokpesi Of Alleged N2.1bn Fraud

The Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, has discharged and acquitted the Founder and Chairman Emeritus of DAAR Communications PLC, High Chief Raymond Dokpesi on the allegation of N2.1 Billion fraud Case.

He is alleged to have received N2.1 billion from the office of the national security adviser (ONSA) between October 2014 and March 2015, during the tenure of Sambo Dasuki, former national security adviser, for services not rendered.

However, the court made the declaration today, Thursday April 1, 2021, while ruling on the “No Case Submission” filed by High Chief Dokpesi.

The three man justices of the Appeal Court unanimously discharged the accused, saying that the prosecutor (EFCC/Federal Government of Nigeria) could not prove a case of money laundering and criminal conspiracy against the accused.

On November 21, 2018, John Tsoho, trial judge, had struck out Raymond Dokpesi’s no-case submission and ordered him to open his defence.

Aggrieved, Dokpesi approached the court of appeal seeking to upturn the trial court’s decision.

Elfrieda Williams-Dawodu, justice of the appellate court, delivered judgment in the appeal on Thursday.

The judge held that the prosecution failed to establish a prima facie case against the appellants.

Raymond Dokpesi (born 25 October 1951) in Ibadan is a Nigerian media entrepreneur. His parents are from Agenebode, Edo state in a family including six sisters siblings. He entered the Nigerian mass media industry with his company DAAR Communications and set-up the Nigerian TV network Africa Independent Television (AIT). He was the organising committee chairman of the People’s Democratic Party national conference in 2015. As of March 2020, he is still undergoing a trial on corruption charges. In May 2020, Dokpesi became a COVID-19 survivor.

In the early 1990s, as a result of the historic National Broadcasting Commission decree, according to Muyiwa Oyinlola (2004) Nigerian media was dominated by the government only. Information was only made possible from government owned broadcasting firms. However, the Head of State then General Ibrahim Babangida, issued another decree which allowed private broadcasting in Nigeria. After this decree came the first private television network in Nigeria, Africa Independent Television (AIT). AIT was pioneered by Dokpesi, and was also Africa’s first satellite Television station.

 Today Raymond Dokpesi is regarded as the media guru of Nigeria. Some also refer to him as the Ted Turner of Nigeria. Raymond Dokpesi not only pioneered the first satellite TV but also the first privately owned radio station in Nigeria. According to the journalist Kolapo (2006), Raymond Dokpesi claims that AIT set the standard for salary structure in the media industry in which Nigerian Television Authority imitated

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