According to Punch, the hope of the former Chairman, DAAR Communications Plc, Chief Raymond Dokpesi, of being released on bail by Justice Gabriel Kolawole of a Federal High Court, Abuja, dimmed on Thursday after the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission said it had opened a fresh probe into the payment of N8.4bn to the businessman by the Federal Government.
Counsel for the EFCC, Mr. Rotimi Jacobs, said this while opposing Dokpesi’s application for bail as canvassed by his lawyer, Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN), during Dokpesi’s appearance in court in Abuja.
On Wednesday, Ozekhome had said his client had been in the EFCC custody for eight days, adding that the offences, for which the embattled businessman was standing trial, were bailable.
The judge had adjourned hearing of the bail application till Thursday after the EFCC counsel indicated that he needed time to file a counter-affidavit opposing it.
Dokpesi was on Wednesday arraigned along with his firm, Daar Investment and Holdings Limited, on six counts of money laundering and procurement fraud, instituted against him by the EFCC.
The EFCC charged Dokpesi and DIHL with fraudulent receipt of N2.1bn from the Office of the National Security Adviser between October 2014 and March 19, 2015, for the Peoples Democratic Party’s presidential media campaign in breach of the provisions of the Public Procurement Act, Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act and the EFCC (Establishment) Act.
He pleaded not guilty to all the six counts on Wednesday.
Justice Kolawole had, after the arraignment on Wednesday, ordered that Dokpesi be remanded in the EFCC custody and be produced in court on Thursday for the hearing of his bail application.
During the hearing of the application on Thursday, Ozekhome urged Justice Kolawole to grant bail to his client.
The lawyer argued that the offences, with which Dokpesi was charged, were ordinarily bailable because they were not capital offences.
He said Dokpesi had not, in any way, contributed to any act of insurgency in the country and that he would not jump bail.
Similarly, the defence lawyer contended that Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution presumed his client innocent until the contrary was proved by the prosecution.
Opposing the bail application, however, Jacobs urged the court to reject the application on the grounds that the Federal Government was investigating a fresh allegation of N8.4bn the accused collected for airing the FIFA Under-17 championship, which Nigeria hosted in January, 2012.
Jacobs added that the airing right was given to DAAR Communications by FIFA and the Federal Government was not a party to the contract for which he allegedly collected N8bn from the Nigerian government.
Jacobs said, “Here is a man, who in 2012, collected over N8bn for the contract for airing of the Under-17 World Cup organised by FIFA. Nigeria was not part of the contract agreement with FIFA, yet, this applicant collected the huge sum from the treasury of this country.
“Again, let me say here that Nigeria is bleeding and it is the duty of everybody, including judges in court, to ensure that we fight and put an end to corrupt tendencies in this country.”
He added that granting bail to the accused person would jeopardise investigation into the allegation.
He referred the judge to the affidavit filed in opposition to the bail application, indicating no contract paper was exchanged by Dokpesi and any agent of government when the N2.1bn was paid to him.
In response to the allegations, Ozekhome said Jacobs was being speculative.
He said, “The prosecution counsel is being speculative and giving evidence from the bar. When we get to the bridge, we will cross it and prove that there was no corruption as far the applicant is concerned.”
Source and Photo credit: Punch