Court orders EFCC to remove Dokpesi from watchlist
CHIEF Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice John Tsoho, has ordered the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to remove broadcaster Raymond Dokpesi from its watchlist.
The judge gave the ruling today in an application filed and argued by Dokpesi’s counsel, Kanu Agabi.
Justice Tsoho held that there was no justification for the anti-graft agency to continue to keep Dokpesi on the watchlist since there are no criminal charges or allegations against him.
He also said that keeping Dokpesi on the watchlist will amount to disobedience to the Court of Appeal judgment which in April quashed the N2.1bn money laundering charges against Dokpesi.
The Court of Appeal in Abuja had on April 1 upheld the no-case submission filed by Dokpesi and his media company DAAR Communications in a seven-count criminal charge.
In the judgment, Justice Elfreda Williams-Dawodu had held that the EFCC failed to establish a prima facie case against Dokpesi in the charges.
The court had further held that EFCC failed to prove that the N2.1 billion allegedly received by the appellant as payment was a proceed of breach of trust.