•Fed Govt resumes ex-NSA’s trial
A FEDERAL High Court in Abuja yesterday overruled an objection by former National Security Adviser (NSA), Sambo Dasuki and ordered that arms and ammunition allegedly recovered from his Abuja home be displayed in court.
Dasuki is standing trial before the court on charges of illegal possession of firearms and money laundering.
The prosecution had opened its case by calling a witness, but the trial was latter stalled when the initial trial judge, Justice Adeniyi Ademola, withdrew.
Trial resumed before another judge, Justice Ahmed Mohammed, to whom the case was later assigned, yesterday with the prosecution calling its first witness.
The witness, an operative of Department of State Service (DSS), had his face hidden from the court’s audience. He wore a mask and testified behind a shield provided by the court.
Lead in evidence by the prosecution lawyer, Oladipupo Okpeseyi (SAN)the witness gave details of how a search was conducted in Dasuki’s home, in 2015, four days after the change of government and how weapons were allegedly recovered.
The witness told the court that he was part of the team ordered by the Director General of DSS in 2015 to carry out search on Dasuki’s house based on intelligence report that weapons injurious to national security were in his house.
The witness said the team, led by Ali Burara, armed with a search warrant, arrived at Dasuki’s home in Asokoro and met a number of armed soldiers, who prevented the team from accessing the premises.
He stated that after about three hours, a military truck arrived at the house and took the soldiers away, following which his team was able to conduct its search. He said his team recovered some weapons and recorded them on the search warrant.
At that point, Okpeseyi asked that the alleged recovered weapons be brought to the open court, a request Dasuki’s lawyer, Adeola Adedipe, objected to.
He hinged his objection on the grounds that since the trial was being conducted in semi- secrecy, in compliance with the order of the court made on June 2015, the exhibits should not be displayed for the court’s audience to see.
Adedipe relied on Section 190 of the Evidence Act, Section 232 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, (ACJA), 2015 and Section 36 of the Constitution.
He added that, since the witness was testifying behind a veil, it was normal and appropriate that the weapons be displayed in the judge’s chamber.
Okpeseyi, in a counter argument, urged the court to dismiss Adedipe’s objection on the grounds that it was only official record of the state that cannot be displayed in the open court, but not items recovered in the house of a suspect during investigation.
Ruling, Justice Mohammed noted that it was in the interest of justice and fair play and to the benefit of parties that the weapons be exhibited in open court.
The judge said Dasuki, as a defendant in the trial, would not be prejudiced if the alleged recovered weapons were displayed and tendered as exhibit by those who investigated the allegations against him.
Justice Mohammed said the weapons were listed in the proof of evidence already made available to the defendant by the prosecution.
The judge later adjourned to May 22 for the formal tendering of the exhibits (weapons) and continuation of trial.