Supreme Court Delivers Ruilng On Dasuki’s Appeal

The Supreme Court has today ordered the High Court sitting in Maitama, Abuja to give an accelerated hearing to the trial of former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd), while dismissing his appeal.

It would be recalled that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), is prosecuting Dasuki and others before the FCT High Court over charges of alleged diversion of multi-billion naira funds earmarked for purchase of arms meant to be used to fight the Boko Haram insurgency in the North-East.

Justice Dattijo Muhammad who headed a five-man panel of the apex court pointed out in their judgment on the two separate appeals by Dasuki, that the trial initiated in 2015, had been frustrated at the FCT High Court by various interlocutory applications and appeals.

The five Justices on the supreme court’s panel all gave the order for accelerated hearing of the trial after dismissing Dasuki’s two appeals.

The former NSA’s appeals had seperately prayed for an order putting on hold his trial until he is released from “unlawful” detention by the Department of State Service (DSS).

Both the FCT High Court and the Court of Appeal had dismissed Dasuki’s prayers, ruling that his re-arrest by the operatives of the DSS after he met his bail conditions and was released from Kuje prison on December 29, 2015, did amount to the disobedience of the trial court’s order granting him bail.

Justice Ejembi Eko, who read the lead judgment of the Supreme Court on Friday, affirmed the concurrent findings of the trial court and the Court of Appeal.

The apex court, while agreeing with EFCC’s lawyer, Mr. Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), said that Dasuki’s appeals lacked in merit and were fraught with ulterior motive of frustrating his trial.

It would be recalled that Dasuki had appealed to the Supreme Court against the judgments of the June 15, 2016 Court of Appeal, Abuja, which had affirmed the earlier separate rulings of the FCT High Court.

Source: Greennews