Tag: Dasuki

A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in Jabi has fixed judgment for Monday in a fundamental human rights enforcement suit filed by a former aide to the ex-National Security Adviser,  Col. Sambo Dasuki, Col. Nicholas Ashinze.

Ashinze, who has been in detention since December 23 last year, is seeking an order releasing him on bail.

He wants the court to direct the respondents to tender a public apology and pay him N500m as compensation for wrongful detention.

Named as respondents in the suit were the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, the Chief of Army Staff and the Nigerian Army.

Ashinze, through his lawyer, Mike Ozekhome (SAN), alleged that he had been in custody of the respondents for no verifiable reasons.

He urged the court to declare that his arrest and continued detention since December 23, 2015 “without being given any reason and without granting him administrative bail within 24 hours or 48 hours of his arrest and detention, is illegal, wrongful, unlawful and unconstitutional.”

Ozekhome argued that the action of the respondents against his client constituted “a blatant violation” of the applicant’s fundamental rights.

He urged the court to grant bail to his client on self-recognizance, particularly when none of the respondents filed any counter-affidavit to oppose the suit, stressing that the applicant is still a serving colonel in the Nigerian Army.

Ozekhome said: “My lord, in law, the facts are deemed admitted for all purposes. In all the cases cited, the courts are clear that you do not need to force a person to file a counter-affidavit as all the facts averred by the applicant are deemed admitted, having not been contradicted with a counter affidavit”.

Justice Peter Affen of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in Maitama ruled yesterday that the continued detention of ex-National Security Adviser (NSA), Mohammed Sambo Dasuki, was in order.

The judge, ruling on an application by Dasuki, held that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Departmnet of State Services (DSS) and the Federal Government did not violate any subsisting court order in the detention of Dasuki.

It is the second court to dismiss  Dasuki’s claim that his continued detention violates a subsisting court order.

Justice Affen dismissed Dasuki’s application seeking to stop his trial or quash the charges against him.

Dasuki is standing trial with a former Director of Finance and Administration in the Office of the NSA, Shuaibu Salisu; ex-Minister of State for Finance, Bashir Yuguda; a former Governor of Sokoto State, Attahiru Bafarawa; the ex-governor’s son, Sagir Attahiru; and Dalhatu Investment Limited on a 22-count charge of looting about N13billion public funds.

Of the six defendants, it was only Dasuki who challenged his trial, arguing that the state was in violation of a court order admitting him to bail.

 He claimed that his continued detention violated the order for bail purportedly him by the court.

He made a similar argument, through his lawyers, Joseph Daudu (SAN) and Ahmed Raji (SAN) before Justice Hussein Baba Yusuf, also of the High Court of the FCT and Justice Adeniyi Ademola of the Federal High Court, Abuja.

Dasuki is on trial in three courts on different charges.

Justice Yusuf had, on February 9, ruled on a similar application by

Dasuki, holding that  Dasuki was in error in his argument and dismissed his application.

Justice Ademola is scheduled to rule on April 4 on a similar application before him.

Justice Affen was of the view yesterday that Dasuki’s application lacked merit.

 He held 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. He directed the commencement of trial in the case on April 20 and 22.

The judge said: “Though both the EFCC and the DSS are agencies of the Federal Government of Nigeria, they are established under separate enactments and vested with distinct legal persona, powers and responsibilities such that one is not liable for action or inaction of the other.

“Even criminal prosecution is undertaken by them separately in the name of the Federal Government of Nigeria merely to facilitate the due administration of justice which does not alter the mark of separate and distinct legal identities.

“This being so, the inevitable conclusion to reach is that the applicant has not made out a proper case of disobedience of the order made by this court on December 21, 2015 and therefore there is no legal or factual basis upon which the court can prohibit the complainant from further prosecuting the instant charges not to mention any other charge before any other court as prayed by the second defendant.

“The point has already been made that the order allegedly disobeyed or violated did not contemplate any government agency other than the EFCC and that this court did not restrain the arrest, the re-arrest or detention of the second defendant or any of the defendants for further offences when alleged against them,” Justice Affenn said.

The judge said there was “no correlation” between the prayer sought by Dasuki to discharge him and the alleged disobedience of court order.

“I have found no correlation whatsoever and none has been demonstrated between the alleged disobedience of court order and being discharged of the offences charged.

“I take the considered view that even if the second defendant/applicant has succeeded in establishing the case of disobedience of the orders granted on December 21, 2015, and I have already held that he did not do so, that would not constitute valid grounds for discharging him of the offences preferred against him,” he said.

The judge also refused Dasuki’s request for an order for stay of proceedings, insisting  that there was no basis for granting the prayer in the light of the provisions of Section 306 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) which prohibits the court for staying criminal proceedings.

THE  Federal Government (Fed Govt) has accused ex-National Security Adviser (NSA), Mohammed Sambo Dasuki of working to escape being subjected to trial in relation to the charge of illegal possession of fire arms and money laundering brought against him.

Dasuki was last year arraigned before Justice Dasuki was first arraigned on September 1, 2015, before Justice Adeniyi Ademola of the Federal High Court, Abuja on one-count charge bordering on allegation of illegal possession of firearms.

On October 27 last year, he was re-arraigned on an amended charge of five counts, in which he was also accused of breaching the Money Laundering Act.

Before trial could commence, Dasuki filed an application, accusing the prosecution of breaching an order of the court, allowing him to travel abroad on medical ground. He said the decision of the state to re-arrest him and detain him amounted to a breach of the court’s order.

He prayed the court to restrain the prosecution from proceeding with his trial or that he be discharged on the ground that his continued detention has denied him the right to prepare for his defence.

Yesterday, lead prosecuting lawyer, Dipo Okpeseyi (SAN) warned that if allowed, Dasuki would frustrate his trial.

Okpeseyi argued that  Dasuki’s application, in which he sought among others, to restrain the state from further prosecuting him and an order quashing the charge against him, was intended to obstruct government’s prosecutorial powers.

He contended that by his application, Dasuki seeks to be discharge without being subjected to trial.

Okpeseyi queried the morality in Daudu’s argument when he did not bother about freedom for the late environmental right activist, Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight others, who he (Daudu) prosecuted and we’re killed by the government.

The prosecution lawyer, who argued that there was nothing wrong in Dasuki granting audience to his lawyers in his current location, reminded Daudu that Saro-Wiwa and others were compelled to prepare their defence while in prison.

“Just as the lawyers that defended Saro Wiwa had to go to the prison to prepare his defence, if indeed he (Dasuki) is in prison, his lawyers should go to him. They have not complained that they sought to see him and were prevented by state’s agents.

“What is going on in the country is an emergency. The investors he (Daudu) referred to are worried because they are aware that money are disappearing, that there is insurgency in the north-east and internally displaced people (IDP) everywhere.

“Those who have been killed and maimed for life are there, because the investors are also seeing all these, and worried if we value human lives.

“The defendant is a crown prince, a retired colonel of the Nigerian Amy and one of the favoured few. No one can take away his right to defend himself.

“This application is forum shopping. They have filed similar applications before other courts and one had been decided and thrown out by Justice Hussein Baba Yusuf of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT),” Okpeseyi.

He question the legitimacy of the processes filed by the applicant, arguing that paragraohs  7, 8, 9 13, 18 to 27 of the affidavit filed by the applicant offend Section 11 of the Evidence Act 2011.They constitute legal conclusions and arguments.

“These paragraphs are liable to be struck out. By the time we take off these paragraphs, there will be nothing for this application to sit on,” he said.

Okpeseyi urged the court to refuse the application because it lacks merit and must be dismissed. The prosecution are ready to commence prosecution.

Daudu, while arguing his Dasuki’s application, urged the court to exert itself by insisting that its order that his client be allowed to travel abroad for medical purposes are obeyed.

He urged the court to either prevent the state from going ahead with the prosecution of his client or discharge him from the charge on the ground that, having been allegedly held in custody, his right to prepare for his defence has been denied.

“Apart from the fact that his continued arrest and detention constitute a further breach of the order of this court, the defendant cannot prepare for his defence,” Daudu said.

He noted that Section 36 of the Constitution provides for all the rights of a defendant who has been charged to court.

“How can he have the time and facility to prepare his defence when he has no access to his lawyers.Until the breach of the order of this court is resolved by your Lordship, we cannot prepare for our defence,” Daudu said.

Daudu urged the court to disregard the prosecution’s argument that Dasuki was “being detained by one agency of the govt, another agency is investigating him, and that, a different agency is prosecuting him.

Justice Adeniyi Ademola has adjourned to ruling to April 4. He will also rule on the prosecution’s application for witnesses’ protection.

•Hearing in ex-NSA’s trial stalled over his application

THE Federal Government has accused ex-National Security Adviser (NSA) Mohammed Sambo Dasuki of allegedly working against trial in a bid to keep his bad deeds from the public.

It described as untrue, Dasuki’s claim that his continued detention was in breach of two orders made by Justice Adeniyi Ademola of the Federal High Court, Abuja.

The prosecution, through Emmanuel Ikpebe, gave the Federal Government’s position  in a counter-affidavit in reaction to an application by Dasuki.

Dasuki sought to  quash the charge against him on the grounds that the state, having allegedly breached the court orders, could not be indulged by being allowed to proceed with the trial.

Dasuki is being tried on charges of illegal possession of firearms and money laundering.

Ikpebe, who deposed to the counter-affidavit, said by filing the application, Dasuki was “not interested in facing his trial before this court”.

He added that Dasuki was “averse to the public knowing the magnitude of the wrongs against the Nigerian state that he has been charged with in court”.

Ikpebe said Dasuki was rearrested by the Department of State Services (DSS) days after he was released on bail.

He said the rearrest was informed by his alleged refusal to honour an invitation to clarify issues in relation to other cases.

Trial was stalled yesterday, following Dasuki’s application of February 11, to which the prosecution filed a counter-affidavit.

When the case was called, lead prosecution lawyer Dipo Okpeseyi (SAN) told the court he was ready for trial.

He said his witnesses were in court, a position lead Defence lawyer Joseph Daudu (SAN) objected to.

Daudu drew the court’s attention to his application and the prosecution’s response, insisting that he required time to respond to the counter-affidavit.

He sought an adjournment to enable him file a written response to the counter affidavit.

The defence lawyer rejected Okpeseyi’s suggestion that he respond orally to enable the court hear the application.

While opposing Daudu’s application for adjournment, Okpeseyi said since the case attracted national and international attention, the case should be handled with seriousness. He said further delay would give observers the wrong impression that the country is not serious.

Justice Ademola adjourned the case to enable the defence file its response.

He noted that he was yet to rule in an application by the prosecution for an order protecting its witness.

The judge ordered that Dasuki must be presented in court at every hearing.

He adjourned to March 3 for Dasuki’s application seeking to quash the charge.