Court Adjourns Hearing to 28 and 29 April

Alex Enumah in Abuja

The trial of former Chairman of Daar communications Plc, Raymond Dokpesi, for his alleged involvement in the S2.1 billion for the procurement of arms to fight Boko Haram was on Wednesday stalled by what the defence described as illegibility of certain pages of some documents presented by the prosecution as parts of evidences in prosecuting the case.

He ‎ is facing a six-count criminal charge. He was alleged to have ‎received about N2.1billion from the office of the National Security Adviser, NSA, for Peoples Democratic Party’s ‎presidential media campaign.

According to the EFCC, the fund was released to the accused person by the erstwhile NSA, Col. Sambo Dasuki, rtd, ‎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.

When the matter came up for hearing before justice John Tsoho of a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, Wole Olanipekun SAN, lead counsel to Dokpesi who told the court that the defence is fully prepared for the trial however, observed that due to their inability to read some of the contents of a document they just got, supporting the case of the prosecution, it would be difficult to proceed with the trial.

Earlier, he had told the court how they made efforts to get a copy of additional proof of evidence/ statement of witness submitted by the prosecution. He admitted that prosecution counsel Rotimi Jacobs had on February 17, 2016 informed him that he had filed additional proof of evidence but, quickly added that he was not duly served.

While stating that the prosecution should put its house in order, the defence counsel urged the court to direct the prosecution to put into clear and readable form the additional proof of evidence as well as the original so that all parties in the case would be on the same page.

DETAILS LATER

http://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2016/03/02/illegibility-of-document-stalls-dokpesis-trial/

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