71-year-old AIT founder Raymond Dokpesi is dead

The founder of DAAR Communications, the parent company of Africa Independent Television (AIT), was 71 years old.

"He will be deeply missed by all who knew him," his son, Raymond Dokpesi Jnr., said in a statement on Monday.

While the statement did not reveal the cause of death, Dokpesi Jnr asked that the family be allowed to grieve in private.

"The family will release further details on the funeral arrangements in due course," he noted.

Before AIT launched in 1996, Dokpesi launched Raypower FM, Nigeria's first privately-owned FM radio station in 1994.