London’s Metropolitan Police, UK, said it is investigating a 71-year-old man who was arrested at Heathrow airport on Sunday on suspicion of rape.
This stems from the controversy surrounding the arrest of DAAR Communications Plc founder, Chief Raymond Dokpesi, who was delayed by weather police at Heathrow airport on Sunday for a few hours.
Dokpesi had arrived via Frankfurt from Abuja on a Lufthansa airline flight, but was invited off the plane before other passengers disembarked.
Confirming the development in a statement on Monday, DAAR Communications management explained that Dokpesi was in the UK in connection with the invitation extended to PDP presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar by the British government to speak on the UK presidential election. 2023.
The statement said he was delayed for some hours before his passport was subsequently stamped and cleared by British immigration officials.
It read: “Dokpesi arrived via Frankfurt from Abuja on a Lufthansa airline flight and was invited off the plane before other passengers disembarked.
“Dokpesi was delayed at the airport for a few hours before his passport was stamped and British immigration officials cleared him to enter the country.
“His visit to the UK is not unrelated to the invitation of the Peoples Democratic Party presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, by the British government to share perspectives on issues related to the 2023 presidential election.
“The founding medium is the Technical and Systems Assistant Director General of the PDP Presidential Campaign Council. Chief Dokpesi wishes to thank everyone for their great love, prayers and support from him following the news of the incident and assure them that he is safe and sound.”
But responding to inquiries from The PUNCH about the reasons for Dokpesi’s arrest, the Met Police in an email did not mention the name of the PDP chief.
The email read: “On Sunday 8th January, a 71-year-old man was arrested at Heathrow Airport on suspicion of rape. The arrest relates to a rape allegation in August 2019. The man was released on bail, pending further investigation, until early April. Investigations into the circumstances continue.
“Please note that we do not confirm the identity of anyone who has been arrested but not charged.”
Dokpesi could not be reached for comment on the police statement.
But a source at DAAR Communication stated: “Rape! It’s not possible. I am not in the UK and have no information as to why Dokpesi was held and released. If it was a rape case, will they release it? It is the most unfair accusation against him. Where did the rape occur? Are you in Nigeria or the UK?
“If Nigeria didn’t fight, will the UK be the one to fight him for rape? Those who make that false accusation should be able to say where the alleged rape took place. Those who brandish such nonsense are not fair to that man.
“Rape! At what age? Something you didn’t do at a younger age, is it in your 70s that you would do that?
