Dokpesi fingers Buhari’s govt in his arrest by NIS

Tunde Opalana, Abuja

Chairman of Daar Communications, owners of Africa Independent Television (AIT), High Chief Raymond Dokpesi has blamed his short detention by operatives of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) in Abuja on the Buhari administration.

Though he said he did not suspect any foul play in the 55 minutes detention saga, he said “I can only say what I know but honestly this is the handiwork of the Buhari Federal Government”.

Dokpesi was on Friday March 22, 2019 detained at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja by NIS officials on his return from oversees medical trip.

Speaking with journalists in Abuja on Wednesday , he said “I just returned from a medical trip overseas last Friday, March 22nd 2019 when I was arrested for 50 -55 minutes at the Airport.

I was told that they have instructions from above to arrest me on my return but after a few phone calls and contacts, the immigration officer at the Airport told me that he has instructions from above that I can leave and he gave me back my passport and told me that I should go and that they will reach me subsequently”.

He said on Monday, March 25, he in line with the normal process, returned his international passport to the Federal High Court since he travelled under a judicial approval or permission.

“So I returned my passport that I have gone and came back and gave notice that I might have to go for a medical check up so that they will ensure that the operation was successful and that all the organs and everything are properly healed”, he added.

According to Chief Dokpesi, he got a letter from NIS on Tuesday asking him to submit his passport but replied same day that he had returned the passport to the Federal High Court and that it has been duly acknowledged and added all the necessary information and so on.

“But the officers who interrogated me said that they had expected me to go back to the Federal High Court and obtained the passport with their letter of invitation and I told them that I totally defer from that line of thought.

“I have returned, I got the passport from the Federal High Court, I have returned the passport to the court. If you the Immigration Service with the instruction from above require my passport then write directly to the Federal High Court and request for the passport.

If you like, you can copy me for me to be able to go there and say, look I am supposed to be a courier, has the Court approved it and I will return it clearly, but that did not happen and that made us have altercations and tempers went very high.

” But is stood my ground and said, well I am a Nigerian citizen, I have travelled out for my medical treatment, I am back to the country and I voluntarily came back and has handed over my passport to the appropriate authority.

They were telling me that passport was a property of the federal government and federal government has a right to withdraw it at any time.

“Granted passport is a property of the federal government and federal government has a right to withdraw it but I am also a citizen of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and there is a judicial process, there is a rule of law, why should we not go through the judicial process and be able to define what is required”, he said.

On the next line of action, he said the Immigration Service asked him to go home, “but he left with an annotation that should they have any reason to invite me after they had reviewed my statement that I wrote and the letter I sent to them yesterday, that I should honour the invitation when I do receive it”.

Asked if there any indication that they want to impound his passport, he said ” definitely if I had brought my passport today, they would have impounded it, that is what it is.

There are no two ways about it but the passport is with the Court. But even if they decide to do so, like I said the passport is a property of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, so they can request for it.

Dokpesi said he will hold on before taking further action because he is already in court, having challenged Order 6 and all the Orders that are there.

Giving reasons for inviting Dokpesi, the Public Relations Officer, Nigeria Immigration Service, NIS, Mr. James Abraham said he was invited for official-related issues and he has been released.

He, however, declined the disclosure of the issue. He said “Mr. Dokpesi is a high-profile individual so until we are able to finish the issues we are looking at, we can’t disclose them.

“Immigration is just doing its official assignment and when it is due for the public to know the outcome, they will know. Is it a common practice for high profile Nigerians to be treated this way?

The spokesperson said all Nigerians are treated the same way, with high standards particularly when it is related with the operation of the Immigration Service.

“We don’t undermine human rights and we don’t undermine the standard of practice. Every person that is treated by the NIS is treated with the best practice”, he said.