Another judge of a Federal Capital Territory High Court in Maitama,
Abuja, Justice Peter Affen, on Friday ruled that the continued detention
of the immediate past National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki
(retd.), did not violate his order granting the ex-NSA bail on December
21, 2015.
The judge dismissed the application by Dasuki seeking
to stop his trial for alleged diversion of N19bn arms funds on the
grounds that his re-arrest on December 29, 2015 violated the order of
the court granting him bail.
Justice Affen ruled that the
application lacked merit and ordered that the trial of the ex-NSA, who
was charged along with others, must continue.
The judge fixed April 20 and 22, April for trial.
Earlier,
Justice Baba Yusuf of the same court had also on February 8 made
similar declaration that the detention of the former NSA was in not in
breach of his order granting bail to him on December 18, 2015.
The judge had fixed March 23 for commencement of trial.
Dasuki
had also filed separate applications before the two judges asking for
orders prohibiting the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission from
further prosecuting him on the two separate sets of charges pending
before the judges.
Among his other prayers anchored on alleged
violation of the orders of the court by the EFCC, Dasuki prayed the
court for an order discharging him of the alleged crime or alternatively
staying proceedings.
Meanwhile Justice Adeniyi Ademola of the
Federal High Court in Abuja had on Thursday fixed April 4 for ruling on
similar application filed by Dasuki to stop his trial on four counts of
money laundering and illegal possession of firearms.
Dasuki was
re-arrested by operatives of the Department of State Service on December
29, 2015 shortly after he was released from Kuje prison upon fulfilling
the bail conditions imposed on him by the two judges of the FCT High
Court in Maitama.
Justice Affen ruled on Friday, that since it
was clear that the ex-NSA was not re-arrested by the EFCC but by the
Department of State Service, the EFCC could not be said to have violated
the said order granting him bail.
The judge ruled that though
the EFCC and the DSS were both federal agencies, the wrongdoing of one
could not be blamed on th order.
He also ruled that the order
granting bail to the defendant did not preclude him from being
re-arrested by other agencies of the Federal Government in respect of
other alleged crime.
In his ruling delivered on December 21,
2015, Justice Affen had directed that if Dasuki or any his co-accused
was needed by the prosecution for further investigation, they could only
be held between 9am and 6pm and be allowed to return home on each day.
The
judge ruled that if the prosecution needed the accused beyond the
stipulated period, it must first obtain the leave of court.
“The
order of court made on December 21, 2015 did not in any way contemplated
any government agencies other than the EFCC to whom the order was
directed,” Justice Affen ruled.
While ruling that the EFCC had
not violated its order, the judge added even if it did, Dasuki’s lawyer
did not show how that could constituted grounds for discharging him or
stay the criminal proceedings.
He also ruled that the ex-NSA
should have pursued the enforcement of his fundamental rights to liberty
in an independent civil suit.
Dasuki and others are being prosecuted on 22 counts of diversion of N19bn arms fund.
His
co-accuse include a former Director of Finance and Administration in
the Office of the NSA, Shuaibu Salisu, and a former Minister of State
for Finance, Bashir Yuguda.
Others charged along with them, are a
former Governor of Sokoto State, Attahiru Bafarawa, the ex-governor’s
son, Sagir Attahiru, and a firm, Dalhatu Investment.
The EFCC is
also prosecuting the ex-NSA and others on separate set of 19 counts of
alleged diversion of N32bn arms fund before Justice Baba Yusuf.
His
co-accused in the case are Salisu, a former General Manager, Nigerian
National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Aminu Babakusa and two companies –
Acacia Holdings Limited and Reliance Referral Hospital Limited.
http://www.punchng.com/fg-efcc-didnt-disobey-court-order-judge-tells-dasuki/
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