The Chief Judge of the Federal High Court in Abuja, Justice John Tsoho, has fixed August 3, to deliver the ruling in an application by the founder of Daar Communications Plc, Raymond Dokpesi, who is seeking an order of the court to unfreeze his bank account.
Justice Tsoho fixed the date on Monday, after taking argument from both Dokpesi’s lawyer, Kanu Agabi, SAN, and that of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Oluwaleke Atolagbe.
Also Read: FEC approves Contracts for Police, EFCC, Water Resources, Healthcare, Mines & Power
While arguing the application, Agabi prayed the court to issue an order to unfreeze Dokpesi’s bank account, frozen on the strength of the charges against him, that the criminal charges in respect of N2.1B brought against Dokpesi by the EFCC had since been quashed, and discharged Dokpesi, by the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, and the charge is no longer in existence.
Moreover, the EFCC has not obtained a stay of execution of the Judgement, and therefore, has no legal stand to continue to place freezing order on the defendant’s account, tendering two Judgement of the Court of Appeal, to establish his claim.
In Opposition, the EFCC counsel, Oluwaleke Atolagbe, argued that the anti-graft agency, has already filed a notice of appeal.
He urged the court not to unfreeze the account yet, until the final decision of the Supreme Court.
The attention of the court was also drawn to the request for the release of Dokpesi’s documents.
The EFCC said there was no specification, and the Department of Security Services, DSS, and National Intelligence Agency, NIA made as respondents in the matter, are not before the court, and as such, the court can not make valid order against them.
Justice Tsoho subsequently fixed August 3 for the delivery of ruling on the matter.
Dokpesi was arraigned alongside Daar Investment and Holdings Ltd.
They were alleged to have received the sum of N2.1B from the Office of the National Security Adviser, between October 2014 and March 2015, which was said to have been used for the Peoples Democratic Party campaign, an allegation dismissed by the court of appeal.
(Editor: Ifeanyi Mark)
