According to emerging reports on the development, the former chairman of DAAR Communications has been arrested at London’s Heathrow airport.
Dokpesi was reported to be in London to meet the PDP presidential candidate, atiku abubakarin political matters.
A statement from DAAR Communications confirms the visit to London: “His visit to the UK is not unrelated to the invitation of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar by the British government to share perspectives on issues related to the 2023 presidential election.”
Why Dokpesi was arrested: The reasons for the arrest of the media mogul were unknown at press time.
How Dokpesi was arrested: It was collected that as soon as the flight arrived in London, it was announced that all passengers were to remain in their seats.
Minutes later, UK border agents and officers entered the plane and escorted Dokpesi off the plane.
Dokpesi posted: The management of DAAR Communications, which owns AIT and Ray Power, confirmed his release in a statement issued on Monday, January 9.
The statement explained that Dokpesi was “delayed” at the airport for a few hours before being released.
In the meantime: The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, in Nigeria had indicted Dokpesi in court since 2015 for alleged criminal proceeds of a former national security adviser (NSA), Colonel dasuki sambo.
What you should know: He pleaded not guilty to the charges and went further by filing a no-case submission after the prosecution closed his case in November 2018 after calling 14 witnesses.
What the court did: However, the investigating judge, Justice John Tsohorejected the no-case filing and ordered Dokpesi and his firm to present their defense.
What Dokpesi’s lawyers did: Not satisfied, the defendants turned to the Court of Appeal, with a request to vacate the decision and release him from the charges on the grounds that the prosecution was unable to establish a prima facie case against him.
Dokpesi was discharged: The Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal had cleared Dokpesi of the 2.1 billion naira fraud charges brought against him by the EFCC.
