Nigerian media businessman Raymond Dokpesi was arrested in London on Sunday night on rape allegations, according to UK police sources. 

Mr Dokpesi, the owner of broadcaster AIT, was picked up at London Heathrow Airport as he touched down from a connecting flight via Frankfurt on Sunday evening.

A London police source said: “On Sunday, January 8, a 71-year-old man was arrested at Heathrow Airport over suspicion of rape. The arrest relates to an allegation of rape in August 2019. 

“The man has been bailed, pending further enquiries, to a date in early April.

“Enquiries into the circumstances continue.”

Mr Dokpesi did not return a request for comments. His media group Daar Communications said in a broadcast announcing Mr Dokpesi’s release that he was arrested over a minor issue and was summarily released. The station was silent on the London police’s decision to trap Mr Dokpesi in the UK for the coming months. 

The detention comes as Mr Dokpesi was preparing to meet Mr Abubakar in London in a gathering a party source told The Gazette was linked to strategies leading up to the presidential election next month. Mr Abubakar is standing in the election as the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party’s candidate. 

The development could effectively shut Mr Dokpesi out of an active role in Nigeria’s 2023 presidential election, which has been scheduled for February 25. 

Another key PDP politician Ike Ekweremadu has been in detention in London since he was arrested in June 2022 on charges of organ trafficking. A trial was scheduled to open in the matter on January 31.