10 things you didn’t know about Raymond Dokpesi

Media mogul and founder of Daar Communication Limited , Raymond Dopesi has passed away. The sad news was announced on Monday in a statement issued by his son, Raymond Dokpesi Jnr.,who currently serves as Chairman of Daar Communications .

In memory of the late Dokpesi, here are ten key facts about his life:

1. He was Born on October 25, 1951.

2. During his formative years Raymond Dokpesi received his early education at Loyola College Ibadan and proceeded to Immaculate Conception College in Benin City for his secondary school education. For tertiary education, Dokpesi attended the University of Benin before travelling abroad for Masters and doctorate degrees in Wyzsza Szokta Morska Gdynia and University of Gdansk Sopot in Poland.

3 In 1963, he worked as Marine Office Cadet in the Nigerian Ports Authority.

4. Dokpesi achieved a significant milestone by becoming the first individual to secure a license for private radio broadcast in Nigeria with Raypower 100.5FM. His television station, Africa Independent Television(AIT), was the first African broadcast station to transmit to the USA.

5. He served as the Chief of Staff of the Gongola State Government from October to December 1983 and subsequently the Managing Director of African Ocean Line Limited from 1984-1988.

6. In 2016 the late media tycoon faced legal charges related to money laundering and the breach of the procurement Act . These charges were connected to the disbursement of N2.1billion from the Colonel Mohammed Sambo Dasuki-led Office of the National Security Adviser. However he was discharged and acquitted by the Court of Appeal in Abuja on April 1, 2021.

7. Throughout his career he worked with different government parastatals including the Federal Ministry of Transport and Aviation as the Head of the Water Transport Division , Seconded from the Nigerian Ports Plc between 1978-1983.

8. In recognition to his contribution , Dokpesi was conferred with a National Honour of the Officer of the Federal Republic (OFR) in 2008.

9. He established the first indigenous shipping line in Nigeria

10. He contracted COVID-19 and survived the global pandemic.