The
Federal Government has accused the immediate past National Security
Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, of avoiding trial in order to keep “the
magnitude” of his alleged wrongs against the country away from the
public.
It stated this in a counter-affidavit
which it filed before a Federal High Court in Abuja in opposition to an
application by Dasuki seeking an order discharging him from further
standing trial on charges of money laundering and illegal possession of
firearms instituted against him.
The ex-NSA had predicated his
application on the grounds of Federal Government’s alleged “brazen”
disobedience of a series of orders of court granting him bail.
He urged the court in his application to
discharge him and prohibit the Federal Government from further
prosecuting him on the grounds that his re-arrest by the DSS was
tantamount to Federal Government’s alleged act of assault on the court
which had released him on bail.
The Federal Government, through the
office of the Attorney-General of the Federation is prosecuting Dasuki
before Justice Adeniyi Ademola of the Federal High Court in Abuja on
four counts of money laundering and illegal possession of firearms.
In its counter-affidavit to Dasuki’s
application filed by the prosecuting counsel, Mr. Dipo Okpeseyi (SAN),
the Federal Government denied the allegation of disobeying the order
granting bail to Dasuki with respect to the case.
A lawyer in Okpeseyi’s firm, Emmanuel
Ikpebe, who deposed to the counter-affidavit, stated that while the
prosecution was ready to proceed with the case, Dasuki was allegedly
reluctant to go on in order to keep the details of his wrongs from the
public.
The counter-affidavit stated, “That the
respondent (FG) is willing and ready to proceed to prove the case with
the order of this court at the last hearing on January 20, 2016 fixing
the case for definite hearing.
“That I know that the applicant is not interested in facing his trial before this court.
“That I also know that the applicant is
averse to general public knowing the magnitude of the wrongs against the
Nigeria state he has been charged with in court.”
The prosecution insisted that Dasuki was
re-arrested because of “multiple criminal cases” pending against him in
different courts.
On Tuesday, at the resumed hearing
before Justice Ademola at the Federal High Court, both the prosecution
and the defence disagreed on the alleged violation of the order granting
bail to Dasuki.
Dasuki maintained a blank facial expression while seated in the dock throughout the Tuesday’s proceedings.
His lawyer, Mr. Joseph Daudu (SAN),
insisted before Justice Ademola that the Federal Government had violated
the court’s order granting bail to his client.
He said his application sought to
prohibit the Federal Government from continuing to prosecute his client,
adding that by further indulging the prosecution, which was allegedly
in contempt of the orders of the court, to go on with the case, would
amount to “mockery of the judiciary” and “an assault on the rule of
law.”
He asked for an adjournment to file a response to the prosecution’s reply to his client’s application.
But in response, prosecuting counsel,
Okpeseyi, opposed the application for adjournment as he also denied the
allegation of disobeying court order.
But in his ruling, Justice Ademola
granted the application for adjournment and directed that the defence
should file its final reply within seven days.
The judge adjourned till March 3 and
directed that the prosecution must produce the ex-NSA in court at the
next sitting and subsequent ones.
The judge also said he would deliver a pending ruling on an application by the prosecution for witness protection on March 3.
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