News
BREAKING: Dokpesi’s family at war! Battle over AIT goes to court!
Echoes of war drums are currently reverberating in the home of Remond Dokpesi, the late media baron, who holds the singular record of introducing indigenous private broadcasting in Nigeria, as the children are currently battling over the conglomerate he left behind – one of the ugly phenomena great men suffer at death.
At the centre of the current imbroglio, a supposed outcome of years-old resentments brewing within the family, which have now blown into the open, is the Daar Communication (DCL) Plc, the group that birthed both the Raypower Radio and the African Independent Television (AIT), Nigeria’s first indigenous radio and television stations, respectively.
Court papers have started flying around in a legal war of an internecine dimension, which started over the management of the media concern, with the position of Raymond Paul Dokpesi, its current Chairman and the first son of the late media guru, businessman and politician, who died on May 29, 2023 while exercising in his Abuja home, at issue.
Other children of the deceased, who also had interest in shipping and once contested for the chairmanship of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), are demanding the ousting of their eldest brother, entrusted with the running of the institution by his father on the ground of tenure limitation.
Relying on the provisions of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA), 2020, Peter Dokpesi, another son and younger brother, on behalf of the others, is asking an Abuja Federal High Court, through an originating summons, to stop Paul, from acting as Chairman of DCL, for having exceeded the limit of tenure allowed in law.
The younger Dokpesi, is also relying on the Nigerian Code of Corporate Governance (CoCG), 2020 and the Listing of Rules of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NGX), as it regards the management of the conglomerate, to ensure good corporate governance in making their demands.
Specifically, he told the court in his affidavit that the 10-year tenure of the elder Dokpesi as the DIL boss, allowed by law, expired in 2024, having been appointed in 2014, but in spite of the legal provisions, he had since refused to quit as Chairman.
For this reason, he also begged that he be stopped from parading himself in that capacity and be barred either by himself, his agents, privies and representatives from further operating and or accessing any of the bank accounts of the conglomerate pending the hearing of the matter.
He wants the court to also grant an order of interlocutory injunction from the regulatory agencies from recognizing or dealing with the Chairman, in any business of statutory transactions for and on behalf of DIL or DIHL, pending the determination of the matter and to order a meeting to be convened for the sole purpose of removing him from the position and the appointment of new directors under its supervision.
He alleged that the senior Dokpesi, had maintained an overriding influence inside both DAAR Communications and DAAR Investment Holdings Limited (DIHL), which was injurious to law and that his continued control of the Secretary of DIHL and continued occupation of DIL, impaired independence, breached good corporate governance.
He stated: “That the 1st Defendant/Respondent’s oppressive behaviour and conduct is targeted at totally and completely deploying all the resources of the 2nd Defendant/Respondent to further entrench himself in the saddle at the detriment of the 2nd Defendant/Respondent and DIHL deliberately and that it is in the interest of justice to grant this application to protect the interest of the 2nd defendant as public company and to restore good corporate governance.
In the petition filed by Ferdinand Oshoke Obih, the junior Dokpesi, asked the court to order:
- Immediately investigate the fraudulent, alteration of the Company’s shareholding on the electronic portal
- Reject the information contained in the Registration Status Report.
Issue a directive that the Company’s Registrar of Members be rectified to reflect the true value, verifiable and historically accurate shareholding as contained in the manual file, specifically the CAC 2A, dated 28th January 2008,
- Restore and maintain the manual file record as record of the Company’s shareholding until such a time as valid, legally supported changes is filed with the Commission.
President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday, announced the approval of the establishment of a Presidential Task Force on Ebola Virus Disease Preparedness and Emerging Public Health Threats and ordered the immediate release of ₦10 billion as emergency intervention funding.
Bayo Onanuga, presidential spokesman, who conveyed the development to the public, said the fund would strengthen the operational preparedness of the National Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) and support critical national public health emergency response activities.
To be chaired by Femi Gbajabiamila, Chief of Staff (CoS) to the President, the committee with membership drawn from relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and state representatives is also expected to get briefings on their plans to contain the disease.
Onanuga, stated that Tinubu also specifically directed all states hosting international airports and international border corridors, as well as relevant MDAs, to submit their plans, funding requirements and intervention needs for consideration and coordinated implementation.
Stating that the President’s move followed a stakeholder meeting convened under the CoS to review Nigeria’s preparedness and develop strategies against the possible importation of Ebola into the country., the statement informed that the Task Force would also intensify passenger screening at all international airports through enhanced temperature checks and crowd-control protocols.
Other measures would also include enhanced monitoring of passengers arriving through high-risk airline routes, including Air Uganda, Rwanda Air, Air Tanzania, Air Angola, Kenya Airways and Ethiopian Airlines; and the immediate activation of referral and isolation centres at the Lagos and Abuja international airports, with other airports to follow.
Other measures include the mandatory activation of QR code-based pre-arrival health declaration systems for passengers originating from or transiting through designated high-risk countries, as well as the disinfection of departure halls, cargoes, baggage areas and airport facilities as precautionary environmental measures.
The President also directed the advisory group to consult with security, diplomatic and aviation bodies on regulating flights from affected and designated high-risk countries and mandated the task force to designate specific airports or terminals for high-risk flights to enable controlled screening and isolation procedures, and to consider adjusting flight schedules to minimise interaction between high-risk passengers and other travellers.
Justice Akintoye Aluko of the Federal High Court, Lagos on Tuesday ordered the remand of Paul Jibrin Oweleke in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS) over alleged cybercrime offences linked to social media broadcasts that allegedly called for overthrow of President Bola Tinubu.
Specifically, Oweleke, in a two-count charge was accused of publishing posts on his online platform known as “Oweleke TV”, urging the Nigerian military to remove the President from office in a manner similar to takeovers in some West African countries, an act the agency said bordered on incitement and the use of a computer system to disseminate content considered prejudicial to national security and constitutional governance.
Oweleke’s broadcasts, the agency stressed, were capable of inciting public disorder and promoting disaffection against the government, which will undermine the country’s democracy.
Legal argument had ensued immediately after Oweleke, pleaded not guilty to the charges, with his lawyer kicking vehemently against the prayer of the agency that the court should order his remand pending the commencement of trial, on the ground that a bail application had already been filed and served on the prosecution.
But Aluko, who was persuaded to grant the prayer, went with the DSS, while adjourning the matter to June 16 for the hearing of the bail application, stating that Oweleke, would remain in the facility of the agency pending the outcome.
By June 29 all medical doctors in public hospitals in Nigeria will drop their stethoscopes and other instruments of healthcare, unless the Federal Government settles all unpaid allowances, salary arrears, delayed training funds, and worsening welfare concerns of its members across the country’s health sector.
This was the notice served to the government on Monday, through The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), the umbrella under which the doctors operate, after rising from Ordinary General Meeting (OGM) held in Kano.
In the 21-day ultimatum to the government, the doctors warned that it would not be able to guarantee industrial harmony if the issues remain unresolved within the 21-day period.
In the resolution conveying their position, signed by Mohammad Suleiman, President, Shuaibu Ibrahim, Secretary-General, and Abdulmajid Yahya Ibrahim, Publicity and Social Secretary, on Friday, the body regretted that government had failed to fulfil several commitments to doctors despite repeated assurances and engagements.
“The association hereby declares an industrial dispute with the federal government of Nigeria on the outlined matters above and cannot guarantee industrial harmony after the 21-day window period given to address all the demands,” the communique reads.
The association said it is giving the federal government the 21-day window to commence concrete actions towards the development and implementation of a national healthcare workers assault prevention and response protocol
and the initiation of the necessary legislative process to address the menace.
NARD also demanded the release and payment of the 2026 medical residency training fund (MRTF) to all eligible resident doctors nationwide within the next 21 days.
The association questioned the unpaid salary and promotion arrears in several federal and state health institutions, as well as discrepancies in professional allowances reflected in members’ May 2026 salaries.
It highlighted the welfare issues affecting house officers, including salary delays, unpaid arrears, and difficulties with internship placement and onboarding processes that remain unresolved.
It also accused Motunrayo Omidiran, executive chairman of the Federal Character Commission (FCC), of delaying the issuance of letters of compliance to federal health institutions, noting that the delay has hampered recruitment efforts, manpower shortages, and brain drain in the sector.
NARD expressed worries about the increasing assaults, harassment, intimidation, and violent attacks against doctors while on duty, demanding the arrests, investigation, and prosecution of perpetrators.
It called for the establishment of a national healthcare workers’ assault prevention and response protocol within 21 days by the federal government and security agencies.
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