Drama, blame game as FG fails to produce Dasuki in court for trial

The Federal Government failed today to produce

former National Security Adviser, Colonel Sambo

Dasuki before a Federal Capital Territory High

Court in Abuja for trial in corruption charges

brought against him by the government. Although

the witnesses in the case were assembled by the

Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)

in court, the trial was scuttled by the failure of

the Department of State Security Services (DSS)

to release Dasuki to EFCC for the trial.

At the resumed of the case, counsel to the EFCC

Mr Oluwaleke Atolagbe informed Justice Baba

Yusuf that he had made serious efforts through

the EFCC to contact the DSS to produce the first

defendant in court and regretted that as at the

time the court was sitting his efforts did not

yield fruitful result.

The counsel informed the court that there was no

indication that the former NSA would be brought

to court for the trial even though the witnesses

are in court and that also Mr. Rotimi Jacob (SAN)

who was supposed to be the lead prosecution

counsel was at the Court of Appeal for a

different matter. Atolagbe appealed that the

matter be stood down pending the arrival of Mr.

Jacob in Court to come and shed more light on the

absence of Dasuki.

However, Counsel to Salisu Shuaib, a former

Director of Finance ONSA, Chief Akin Olujimi said

that the coming into court of Jacob would be

inconsequential in the absence of the first

defendant (Dasuki). Olujimi, a former Attorney

General of the Federation and Justice Minister,

told the court that the prosecution had failed to

produce the defendant in court and ought to

admit that and asked for adjournment.

The SAN informed Justice Baba Yusuf that it is

settled in law that trial cannot go ahead in the

absence of the defendant and prayed the Judge

to grant adjournment to the prosecution to

enable them take steps to produce Dasuki in

Court on the adjourned date. Olujimi also asked

the court to issue a stern warning to the

prosecution to be serious in the trial and to

ensure that Dasuki is produced in court at all

stages of the trial as demanded by law.

In his own submission, counsel to Aminu Baba-

Kusa, a former Executive at NNPC, Mr Solomon

Umor informed Justice Baba Yusuf that

“ordinarily the prosecution ought to apply for a

bench warrant against Dasuki for a failure to

appear in court for trial but noted that in the

instance case, the prosecution would not do so

because they are the one responsible for the

absence of Dasuki because of his unwarranted

detention. “Lets the truth be told here that it is

the Federal Government that is frustrating this

trial because it wants to eat its cake and have it

at the same time.

By this I mean the government wanted the first

defendant tried for criminal matter and yet it

was not ready to allow the defendant have access

to his lawyers or even to court to face that trial

“I would have asked that the defendants in this

case be discharged and allow to go home pending

the time the prosecution would get serious for

their trial. But I will reluctantly concede to one

more adjournment be granted to the prosecution.

“Let me say that this adjournment should go with

stern warning to the prosecution should not come

before this court with another story because the

defendants must not be held to ransom by the

unwilling prosecution.”

In his ruling, Justice Baba Yusuf said that that

it was the responsibility of the prosecution to

produce the defendant in court as required by law

but regretted that the prosecution has

unfortunately abdicated this responsibility today

as far as this case is concerned. However, the

Judge said because the conduct of the

prosecution had been good in the past, he

granted an adjournment of the trial till May 23,

2016.