N13.5BN ARMS DEAL: Court Adjourns Dasuki’s Trial to May 3

Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd)

FORMER National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd.) and four others before Justice Hussein Baba-Yusuf of the FCT High Court, Maitama, Abuja, yesterday were given May 3 to appear before the court as the lead counsel to Dasuki, Mr. J.B. Daudu (SAN), futilely  sought a long adjournment.

 

Dasuki, alongside Shuaibu Salisu, a former Director of Finance and Administration, Office of the National Security Adviser; Aminu Babakusa, a former General Manager, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation; Acacia Holdings Limited and Reliance Referral Hospital Limited are being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on a 19-count charge of money laundering and criminal breach of trust to the tune of N13.5 billion.

 At the resumed hearing today, Daudu filed an application seeking a long adjournment of the trial on the grounds that he had not had access to the first defendant, thereby preventing him from taking instructions from him and preparing for his trial as well as an adjournment to enable the Appeal Court decide on the stay of proceedings before it.

“The defendant needs the facilities to enable him have access to his documents in preparation for trial,’’ he said.

However, the EFCC had alleged the trial had been stalled at the last sitting due to the absence of the first defendant and his counsel adding that the suspect refused to appear in court at the last sitting without a reasonable cause.

Consequently, Prosecution counsel, who was represented by Adebisi Adeniyi, countered that the application for long adjournment lacked merit since the proof before the court did not indicate that the suspect was denied access to his counsel.

“The application lacks merit, as there is no proof before the court that the defendant was denied access to his counsel. The mere fact that there is an application before the Appeal Court is not enough for my Lord to stay this proceedings, except there is an order from the Appeal Court to do so”, he said.

 

Justice Baba-Yusuf after listening to the parties ordered the prosecution to provide facilities for the first defendant to have access to his counsel during business hours between Monday and Friday, and adjourned to May 3, 2016 for commencement of trial.