Date Published: 12/29/09

AIT on fire, part of office razed

Raymond Dokpesi

The Alagbado, Lagos office of Africa Independent television, AIT was this afternoon gutted by fire.

The cause of the fire which razed part of the office and the extent of damage was not immediately known as at press time. But fire service truck were seen at the premises trying to quel the inferno.

It would be recalled that DAAR Communication, owners of AIT and Raypower, had dragged the Federal Government to court  over the Nigerian Government  attempt to revoke the operational Licenses of TV and Radio stations which is privately owned by Daar Communications.

After a summon filed by Chief Mike Ozekhome, Lawyer representing DAAR Communications, a Lagos High Court stopped the planned revocation by the Nigeria Broadcasting Corporation, NBC.

Pointblanknews.com had reported that the Chairman and CEO of the television station, Chief Raymond Dokpesi was in October 2009 invited by the Presidency where he was roundly rebuked and accused of using his television station to “misinform and incite the Nigerian people against the administration of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua.”

Both radio and television stations have been critical of Government’s policies and just recently after a Government threat, one of its major talk show programs on AIT: “Focus Nigeria” was yanked off the air while its anchor Gbenga Aruleba was transferred to Raypower to handle administrative responsibilities. This was after a meeting with officials of the Nigerian Government and Chief Raymond Dokpesi, owner of DAAR Communications.