The Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Abuja, Justice
John Tsoho, on Tuesday issued an order unfreezing the N2.1 billion bank account
of the founder of Daar Communications Plc, Chief Raymond Dokpesi.
Justice Tsoho ordered that the account domiciled at First
Bank of Nigeria be immediately unfreezed since the criminal charges, which
precipitated the restriction on the account had been dismissed and Dokpesi
discharged and acquitted by the Court of Appeal.
Delivering ruling in an application filed and argued by Kanu
Agabi SAN, on behalf of Dokpesi, Justice Tsoho said that the Federal Government
has no basis to put a post-no-debit order on the account in view of the
subsisting and valid order of the Court of Appeal.
Justice Tsoho delivered judgment after taking arguments from
Dokpesi’s lawyer, Kanu Agabi, SAN and counsel to the Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission (EFCC), Oluwaleke Atolagbe.
The Chief Judge held that since the Court of Appeal
delivered the judgment that invalidated the criminal charges against Dokpesi,
the EFCC had not applied for stay of execution of the judgment.
Justice Tsoho said that in the absence of a stay of
execution, his court was bound by law to give effect and implementation to the
judgment.
He thereafter ordered that the freeze order and
post-no-debit on the account be immediately removed in compliance with the
appellate court’s decision.
On the claim of EFCC that it has gone on appeal to the
Supreme Court, Justice Tsoho held that the notice of appeal filed at the apex
court cannot in law stay the execution of the subsisting judgment adding that
the anti graft agency ought to have obtained a stay of execution of the
judgment.
He also ordered that all documents seized from Dokpesi or
voluntarily surrendered to the Federal Government be immediately returned to
him.
Atolagbe, in a bid to convince the judge, had drawn the
attention of the court that the Department of State Services, DSS, and National
Intelligence Agency, NIA, made respondents in the matter, did not appear before
the court and as such the court can not make valid order against them.
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