A businessman and founder of Daar
Communications Plc, Chief Raymond Dokpesi, finally left detention on
Wednesday after spending three days in Kuje prison in Abuja, where
a Federal High Court in Abuja remanded him pending when he would meet
the N400m bail conditions granted him
with respect to N2.1bn fraud
charges preferred against him
This was confirmed by his lawyer in a
text message by his lawyer, Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN), to our
correspondent’s telephone line at 8:18pm on Wednesday.
Ozekhome said Dokpesi was released from prison to him as his lawyer, his son, Raymond and his wife Tosin.
The lawyer did not specify exactly
when his client was released from prison on Wednesday and the conditions
which they found difficult to fulfil.
The text message read, “High Chief
Raymond Aleogho Dokpesi released from Kuje Prisons to his counsel, Chief
Mike Ozekhome (SAN), his son, Taymond (Jnr); his wife, Tosin, after
fulfilling the bail conditions imposed by Justice Gabriel Kolawole of
the Federal High Court, Abuja, who granted bail on Monday, December 14
upon an application filed and argued by his counsel, Chief Mike Ozekhome
(SAN).”
The Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission had on December 11 arraigned Dokpesi along with his firm,
Daar Investment and Holdings Ltd, on six counts of money laundering
and procurement fraud involving about N2.1bn which he allegedly received
from the office of the National Security Adviser for the Peoples
Democratic Party’s presidential media campaigns.
Justice Gabriel Kolawole in his ruling
on Monday on an application by defence lawyers – Chiefs Ifedayo Adedipe
(SAN) and Mike Ozekhome (SAN) – granted Dokpesi bail in the sum of
N200m with the sureties in like sum.
The judge also ordered that Dokpesi be remanded in Kuje prison pending when he would fulfill the bail conditions.
The judge had also ruled that one of
the two sureties who must be an entrepreneur, must submit his or her
tittle deed of a property worth N200m in any part of Nigeria and
produce three years tax clearance for preceding years up till 2015.
The judge, who ordered Dokpesi to
deposit his passport and other travelling documents with the Deputy
Court Registrar, Litigation, of the Abuja Division of the Federal High
Court, said the other surety must be a serving or retired director in
the federal or state government civil service or any of their agencies.
Such officer if still serving is
required to produce a letter from his employer to show that he is still
in service and if retired must produce the gazette of his retirement to
show that he was neither compulsorily retired nor dismissed from
service.
The two sureties are also required to
swear to affidavits of means showing that they were worth more than the
bail sums of N200m each.
0 comments:
Post a Comment