Embattled founder and chairman Emeritus of Daar Communication, Raymond Dokpesi, got a reprieve on Thursday, as the Court of Appeal in Abuja discharged and acquitted him of corruption allegations.
Dokpesi, DAAR Investment and Holdings Ltd, were arraigned on seven counts bordering on procurement fraud and breach of public trust.
He was alleged to have received N2.1 billion from the Office of a former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd.), between October 2014 and March 2015 for services not rendered.
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had called 13 witnesses in the course of trial.
On November 21, 2018, Justice John Tsoho, had struck out Dokpesi’s no-case submission and ordered him to open his defence.
But he approached the Court of Appeal seeking to upturn the decision of the lower court.
Delivering judgment in the appeal on Thursday, Justice Elfrieda Williams-Dawodu of the Appellate Court, held that the EFCC failed to establish a prima facie case against the appellants.
One Ibu Thomas broke the news on Twitter as posted below:
Breaking News! 3 man justices of the Appeal Court, Abuja, today, unanimously discharged & acquitted the founder of DAAR Group, High Chief Raymond Dokpesi, saying that the prosecutor @officialEFCC, could not prove a case of money laundering and criminal conspiracy against him pic.twitter.com/SR9RUYVlQd
— ibu thomas🇳🇬 (@Hailfinger1) April 1, 2021