Give me bail or stop my trial, Dasuki tells court

Sambo Dasuki, former national security adviser(NSA), has asked the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) high court to stop his trial for the refusal of the federal government to obey an order of the court granting him bail.

In December 2015, Dasuki was granted bail by Yusuf Baba, justice of the FCT high court; while at Kuje prison in Abuja, Dasuki perfected the conditions of his bail, but operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) reportedly whisked him away to an unknown location.

On Friday, Joseph Daodu, Dasuki’s lawyer, said that he had neither seen his client nor conferred with him since he was taken into detention by the DSS.

He therefore prayed the court to stay proceedings in the case until the federal government complied with its order.

‪”As far as we are concerned it is our duty to ensure that the orders of this court are obeyed,” Daodu said. “‪The only thing I can see now is that he is looking thinner and thinner and we have not even discussed with him.”

‪However, the judge adjourned the case to February 4, saying that the adjournment would give him time to go through all submissions made by the counsel.

‪Rotimi Jacobs, counsel to the federal government,  had asked the court to strike out the application by the accused person to stop his trial.

‪”I’m not unmindful that the first defendant filed an application urging your lordship to prohibit the prosecution to proceed with this charge or stay the proceedings,”he said.

‪He argued that the application should not be taken, and should be adjourned until the end of the trial

‪”My Lord, the era of stopping criminal trial is over by the effect of the criminal Justices Act in May 2015,” he argued.

‪”My lord that is the provision of Section 396 and with due respect the provision the trial should continue.”

After listening to the submissions, the court adjourned the case to February 4 for ruling on the application.

Dasuki is facing 19-count charges of criminal breach of trust and money laundering to the tune of N32bn before Yusuf.

He is also facing 22-count charges of similar offences before Peter Affen of the same FCT high court. He had pleaded not guilty to all the charges, and was subsequently granted bail.