Federal High Court, Abuja has granted Raymond Dokpesi, owner of DAAR Communications Plc, bail to the tune of N400milion.
The court also ordered that Dokpesi who is facing a six-count criminal charge over alleged N2.1 billion fraud, be remanded in prison custody till the perfection of the bail conditions.
In the ruling delivered today by Justice Gabriel Kolawole, Dokpesi was ordered to produce two sureties with N200m each.
In the bail conditions, one of the sureties must be a public servant, either serving or retired, not below the level of a Director, while the second surety may be an entrepreneur who must submit three years tax clearance.
Justice Kolawole also ruled that either of the two sureties must tender title deeds of a landed property in any part of Nigeria, with value at N200milion
“The sureties must depose to an affidavit of means, with two recent passport photographs to the Deputy Chief Registrar, DCR, Administration, of he high court.
Justice Kolawole further ruled that Dokpesi must surrender his international passport, “If already in custody of the EFCC, it should be delivered to the DCR of the Federal High Court in charge of Litigation”.
Dokpesi is being tried alongside his firm, DAAR Investment and Holdings Ltd, owners of African Independent Television, AIT, and Raypower FM.
Specifically, EFCC, in the charge signed by its Deputy Director, Legal and Prosecution, Aliyu Yusuf, alleged that Dokpesi received about N2.1billion from the office of the National Security Adviser, NSA, for PDP’s presidential media campaign.
The charge noted that the funds were released to the accused persons between October 2014 and March 19, 2015.
The funds were allegedly transferred from an account the office of NSA operated with the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, to a FirstBank of Nigeria Plc account owned by DAAR Investment and Holding Company Limited
The prosecution maintained that the transaction was in breach of section 58 (4) (b) of the Public Procurement Act 2007 and punishable under section 58 (6) and 7 of the same Act, as well as under section 17 (b) of the EFCC Act, 2004.
Dokpesi had since pleaded not guilty to the charge, even as the court slated February 17, 18 and March 2 and 3, 2016, to begin full-blown hearing on the matter.
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