An Abuja High Court has again reaffirmed the bail granted former
National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, and five others in the arm deal
trial involving $2.1 billion.
Justice Baba Yusuf reaffirmed the bail on Mr. Dasuki on the ground
that he was entitled to it and having been admitted to same since 2015
when the federal government brought criminal charges against him.
Mr. Dasuki and five others were re-arraigned before Justice Baba
Yusuf on the criminal charges that were transferred from Justice Peter
Affen of the FCT High Court to the new court.
However after the 22 charges were read to the six defendants and all
pleaded not guilty, counsel to Mr. Dasuki, Ahmed Raji, applied to the
court to reaffirm the bail granted to the ex-NSA even though he has not
been allowed to enjoy same since December 2015.
The counsel submitted that it was on record that the FCT High Court
24 admitted Mr. Dasuki on bail before he was illegally arrested and
detained by the State Security Services (SSS).
Mr. Raji argued that with the transfer of the case from Justice Affen
to Justice Baba Yusuf, the SSS had been separated from the matter,
adding that the court record indicated that the ex-NSA was being
prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and
not SSS.
The counsel further said that the illegal act of SSS should not be
used to divest the court of its power to reaffirm the bail granted Mr.
Dasuki earlier because he is entitled to it.
He urged Justice Baba Yusuf to adopt the bail conditions earlier
granted Mr. Dasuki before Justice Affen and reaffirm same in the
interest of justice.
The counsel argued that it is wrong of the prosecution counsel,
Rotimi Jacobs, to have objected to the reaffirmation of the bail
condition on Mr. Dasuki.
He said that Mr. Dasuki has in his possession a judgment of the
ECOWAS Court which last year set aside the unlawful detention of the
Ex-NSA and also imposed a fine of N15,000,000 on the Federal Government
as compensation to his client.
Another Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Lateef Fagbemi, who spoke as a
friend of the court, argued that there was no dispute that Mr. Dasuki
was granted bail but has not been released by the SSS to enjoy the bail.
The senior counsel described the action of SSS as most unfortunate
and urged Justice Yusuf to resist the temptation of being drawn into the
illegality of actions of the SSS on Mr. Dasuki.
The Federal Government Counsel, Mr. Jacobs, told the court that he
had no objection to the affirmation of the bail earlier granted to five
other defendants in the trial.
He however urged the judge not to make any pronouncement or order in
respect of the bail for Mr. Dasuki since he had not been allowed to
enjoy any bail.
“Court must not act in vain, there is no point making an order in
vain. Dasuki has been in the custody of the DSS since 2015 and is still
there till today,” he said.
However in his brief ruling, Justice Yusuf said that it was an
undisputable fact that ex-NSA was granted bail in 2015 and that it would
be in the interest of justice to reaffirm the same bail irrespective of
the action of another arm of the security agencies.
The judge adjourned trial in the matter to February 24, 2016.
Others charged along with Mr. Dasuki are former Finance Minister of
State, Bashir Yuguda; a former Director of Finance and Administration in
the Office of the National Security Adviser(ONSA), Shuaibu Salisu;
Dalhatu Investment; Sagir Attahiru Bafarawa and a former Sokoto State
governor, Attahiru Bafarawa.
They were charged with corruption and breach of trust contrary to
Section 215 of the Penal Code and Section 17B of the EFCC Act 2004.