Tag Archives: Sambo Dasuki

Court rejects bid to consolidate charges against Sambo Dasuki

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A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory has ruled that the two sets of charges brought against former National Security Adviser (NSA), Colonel Sambo Dasuki (rtd), cannot be consolidated because of the number of defendants involved in the charges.

Justice Baba-Yusuf, declining the motion for consolidation of the two charges said the trial would be made difficult for the court to manage if both charges are merged.

Dasuki had prayed the court to consolidate the two charges against him so as not to suffer double jeopardy.

He further held that the fear of double jeopardy was not substantiated because trials in the two charges had not fully started.

Justice Baba-Yusuf said that it is premature for the applicant to raise the issue of double jeopardy and abuse of court process more especially when there was no evidence pointing to that direction yet in the trial.

The judge also said the alleged offences which brought about the two charges were not committed in one transaction and that consolidation of the two charges would make the trial cumbersome because of the high number of defendants involved in the two charges.

He also said that the suggested consolidation, if granted, will work against accelerated trial of the two charges, which had earlier been granted by the court.

Dasuki who has been in detention after being granted multiple bails by courts, said that the Federal Government had engaged in gross abuse of court and legal process by instituting various criminal charges against him on just one issue of the office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).

In the motion argued by his lead counsel, Mr. Joseph Daudu (SAN), Dasuki said that it was wrong in law and even against natural justice for the government to prosecute him on two different charges on the same alleged arms fund diversion.

Others parties in the matter are former Director of Finance and Administration, Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), Shuaibu Salisu; former General Manager, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Aminu Babakusa and two firms: Acacia Holdings Limited and Reliance Referral Hospital Limited.

 

Source: The Guardian

JUST IN: Sambo Dasuki’s corruption trial stalled.

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A fresh application filed by retired Sambo Dasuki on Friday stalled commencement of his trial at an FCT High Court, Maitama.

His counsel, Ahmed Raji, told the court that he was not ready for the commencement of trial because he has an application for consolidation, pending before the court.

“It will amount to a waste of time if the issue of the application is not resolved because it has a connection with the sister case“ he said

Responding, Rotimi Jacobs, the prosecuting counsel, decried delay in commencing trial, adding that after arraignment in 2015, trial was yet to commence.

“Your lordship gave a sufficient time since the last sitting on January 24 in which the 2nd defendant (Dasuki) could have filed any motion, but he filed it only yesterday, and the sister case has commenced already.

“He just wanted to try his luck, this should not be a legal gambling“ he said.

Other defendants in the suit are: Bashir Yuguda; Shuaibu Salisu, a former Director of Finance, Office of the National Security Adviser; Dalhatu Investment Ltd; Sagir Attahiru; and Attahiru Bafarawa, former governor of Sokoto State.

They were arraigned on a 22- count charge bordering on diversion, conspiracy, bribery, abuse of office and criminal breach of trust of about N19.4 billion.

In the sister case, Mr. Dasuki was arraigned on a 19-count charge bordering on diversion of funds.

Other defendant are: Shuaibu Salisu, a former Director of Finance, Office of the National Security Adviser; Aminu Baba-Kusa ,a former NNPC Executive Director, among others.

All the cases are now pending before Justice Husseni Baba-Yusuf

Justice Baba-Yusuf after listening to the submissions from parties adjourned the case till March 2 for hearing of Mr. Dasuki’s motion

 

Source: NAN

Nigerian government insists on secret trial of ex-NSA Sambo Dasuki.

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For the second time, the Federal Government applied to the Federal High Court in Abuja for protection of witnesses that will testify against the former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, in the charge of unlawful possession of fire-arms and money laundering brought against him.

The fresh application to that effect was brought to court by Oladipo Okpeseyi recently engaged by the federal government to lead the prosecution.

In the motion dated January 23 and filed January 24, the government is insisting that the witnesses be given protection by the court by not allowing their names and addresses to be made public in the course of the trial.

But in an opposition to the fresh request, Mr. Dasuki asked the court to dismiss the government motion on the ground that it lacks merit and constitutes a gross abuse of court process.

The Ex-NSA in a counter affidavit filed by his lead counsel, Ahmed Raji, argued that there was no justification for the Federal Government to have brought the motion for secret trial for the second time having lost in the first motion.

The defendant insisted that the federal government had on its own volition placed the charges against him in the internet where the names, addresses and positions of the witnesses were conspicuously put at the disposal of the general public.

Besides, Mr. Dasuki maintained that when the first application was argued by the then Director of Public Prosecution of Nigeria, Mohamed Diri, Justice Adeniyi Adenola of the same court in a landmark ruling dismissed the request on the ground that the witnesses were already known by the public having given their names through the internet.

Mr. Dasuki’s lawyer further said that bringing the same motion to the same court constituted a gross abuse of court process and that what the prosecution ought to do if not satisfied with the decision of Justice Ademola, was to have gone to the Court of Appeal to ventilate its anger.

Mr. Dasuki, who attached a copy of the earlier court ruling on the application, urged the trial judge, Ahmed Mohammed, not to allow the fresh motion for secret trial to be entertained because it would violate his right to fair trial and will run contrary to the principle of the rule of law and natural justice.

When the motion came up on Tuesday, Mr. Opeseyi could not move the motion on the ground that the defence had just served him a voluminous counter affidavit objecting to the motion.

The prosecution counsel told Justice Mohammed that so many fundamental issues were raised in the counter affidavit and that plethora of authorities were also cited in the counter affidavit.

He, therefore, applied for an adjournment to enable him study the counter affidavit and respond to it appropriately.

The defence did not object to the request for the adjournment but clarified that the fresh motion for secret trial was served on the defendant last Thursday, hence their counter affidavit prepared over the weekend was served today within the time allowed by law.

Justice Mohammed has therefore fixed hearing of the motion for March 1.

The Federal Government through the Department of the State Security Service had in 2015 slammed a 2-count charge of unlawful possession of fire-arms and money laundering on Mr. Dasuki.

But the trial suffered a setback last year when Justice Ademola withdrew from further conducting the trial following his arrest by the SSS, also called DSS, on allegations of corruption.

The withdrawal of Mr. Ademola from the trial prompted the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Ibrahim Auta, to transfer the case file to the present judge

The Ex-NSA who pleaded not guilty to the charges was in 2015 admitted to bail by Mr. Ademola but was disallowed by the SSS from enjoying the bail. The security agency rearrested him and kept him in its custody since December 2015.

Other courts like the ECOWAS court have also granted Mr. Dasuki bail, with all ignored by the SSS.

 

Source: Premium Times

Olisa Metuh wants Sambo Dasuki to testify in N400m fraud case

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A former National Publicity Secretary of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Olisa Metuh, has asked the Federal High Court, Abuja, to subpoena former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, to testify in his trial.

At the resumed hearing on Wednesday, Counsel to Metuh, Mr Emeka Etiaba (SAN), reminded the judge, Justice Okon Abang, of a pending subpoena before the court to invite Dasuki as the next witness.

Abang, however, advised that both the defence and prosecuting counsel liaise with the authority holding Dasuki to release him to appear in court.

Counsel to the second defendant Tochukwukwu Onwugbufor (SAN) however said it was the duty of the court to issue a subpoena to anyone to appear in court.

The defence team filed the subpoena on Dec. 2, 2016.

It was premised on the grounds that since the allegation against Metuh revolved around Dasuki, it was important for Dasuki to be a witness in the matter.

Meanwhile, following the stalling of the case on Tuesday due to the ill-health of Metuh, the defence, at today’s sitting presented a medical report from the National Hospital with details of his health condition.

The defence team told the court that Metuh was unable to appear in court because he was admitted at the National Hospital for complications arising from spinal cord injuries.

Etiaba said that the medical experts handling the defendant’s ailment were unable to give the specific date for his full recovery due to the nature of the ailment.

He asked the court for a three-week adjournment for the defendant to recuperate and also seek further medical attention.

Onwugbufor, for his part, told the court that he had seen the medical report and that he was suffering the same ailment as the defendant.

He said he was able to get the right medical care only in London, and urged the court to look at the defendant’s case with compassion since his condition was even more critical than his.

According to him, what Metuh is suffering is excruciating and requires expert attention to ensure full recovery.

Prosecuting counsel, Mr Sylvanus Tahir, said that he was not opposed to an adjournment, adding that the prosecution sympathised with the defence and wished the defendant quick recovery.

“We have been served with the medical report of the defendant and we have little or nothing to say since the record speaks for itself. All we can say is that we extend our sympathy to the defence.

“With regards to the request for a three-week adjournment, we are taking them by their word since the medical report did not give an indication about how soon the defendant will be discharged.

“It only says his management will continue until he gets well and I am not opposed to the adjournment,’’ Tahir said.

Abang adjourned continuation of hearing in the matter till Feb. 21 and February 24.

Dasuki paid Dokpesi N2.1bn without a contract, says witness.

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Shuaibu Salisu Abdulmalik, a former director of finance at the office of the national security adviser, on Tuesday told a federal high court, Abuja, that Sambo Dasuki, former NSA, paid N2.1bn into the account of Raymond Dokpesi’s company – Daar Communications Plc – without a contract.

 

Abdulmalik, who testified as prosecution witness 2 before Justice John Tsoho, said the money was not captured in the NSA budget.

 

The witness was the director of finance and administration at ONSA between November 2010 – 2015.

 

Led in evidence by Rotimi Jacobs, counsel to the EFCC, Abdulmalik said: “My schedule of duty includes: general administration; finance; preparation of budget and salaries. I also liaise with the accountant-general of the federation, AGF, as well as the minister of finance.”

 

“Sometime in January 2015, the then NSA (Dasuki) and I were having breakfast in his office as usual when he gave me Dr. Dokpesi’s number and asked me to call him. He said Dokpesi would give me an account number and that I should credit the account with N500million. After breakfast, I called Dokpesi and introduced myself to him. He sent his PA to me, who was woman and whose name I have forgotten. The woman gave me Dopkesi’s personal account number, but I told her that the CBN would not pay money to a personal account.”

 

According to Abdulmalik, Dokpesi’s PA came the next day with details of Daar Investments and Holding Company Limited’s account domiciled with First Bank.

 

“I collected the account details and prepared the mandate for NSA to sign. The NSA did not tell me the purpose of the transfer, so in the mandate, I put MEDIA CAMPAIGN as the purpose of the transfer and took the mandate to CBN,” he said.

 

The witness further narrated how he transferred additional funds to the same account.

 

According to him, “the transfers totalled N2,120,000,000.”

 

Abdulmalik stated that the funds were transferred between January and March 2015, adding that “to the best of my knowledge, no contract existed between the ONSA and Dokpesi nor his company”.

 

He clarified the phrase “all due process complied with” written on the mandate to simply mean, “all the signatories signed accordingly”. He explained that the signatories as stipulated by the financial regulations were the NSA and him, being the counter-signer.

 

The former DFA also insisted: “We did not budget for any media campaign. As far as I can remember, this is the first time such payment will be made from the ONSA.”

 

The judge adjourned the trial to February 7 and 8, 2017.

Dasuki Transferred To EFCC Headquarters

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The Department of State Services (DSS) on Wednesday moved the immediate past National Security Adviser (NSA), Sambo Dasuki to the Headquarters of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Dasuki who was picked up by the operatives of DSS will be interrogated by the EFCC for his role in the $2.1 billion arms contract scandal.
Meanwhile the Federal High Court in Abuja will sit Thursday December 3, 2015 for the hearing of the motion filed by the Federal Government seeking to revoke the bail granted Dasuki.
At the last resumed hearing of the suit, lawyer to the federal government, Mr. Mohammed Diri, told the court that a notice of appeal has been lodged at the Court of Appeal challenging the judgment of the court granting bail to the former National Security Adviser.
Sambo Dasuki, who had pleaded not guilty to previous charges of alleged illegal possession of firearms and money-laundering preferred against him by DSS had earlier been granted bail by a Federal High Court to enable him seek medical attention.

EFCC Pressures SSS To Handover Sambo Dasuki For Questioning

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The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission is putting pressure on the State Security Service to hand over former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, to it for interrogation over the ongoing investigation into arms procurement contracts during the Goodluck Jonathan administration.

Mr. Dasuki was arrested by the SSS on Tuesday after about a month-long siege on his residence in Abuja.

The agency thereafter took him to its headquarters where he has been in detention since then.

The senior lawyer heading the former NSA’s legal team, Joseph Daudu, on Tuesday said that he was aware the EFCC applied to Justice Adeniyi Ademola to revoke the bail his court granted Mr. Dasuki.

He also said he was aware the application was pending before the court.

But a source at the EFCC told this newspaper that the anti-graft agency was working hard on getting the SSS to release Mr. Dasuki to it for questioning.

“We are working on that angle, whether he would be handed over today or not is what I cannot say with certainty for now,” the source said.

Credit: PremiumTimes

Again, Court Orders DSS To Allow Dasuki Travel Abroad For Treatment

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A Federal High Court in Abuja, on Friday, ordered the Department of State Services (DSS), to allow former National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd.), to travel out of the country for medical treatment.
The immediate-past NSA, had approached the court praying for the enforcement of its earlier order of November 3 that he could travel for three weeks to seek medical assistance for his ailment.

 
In his verdict, Justice A?demola Adeniyi, insisted that Sambo must be allowed to travel without delay.

 
Ademola ruled: “Court order must be obeyed. What is wrong in the defendant travelling and coming back to face trial?
“Only a fit person can stand for trial and investigation. My own orders will not be flouted.”

 

Credit : Vanguard