THE Federal High Court in Abuja has fixed Jan. 9, to entertain a motion filed by the former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki for the suspension of his trial over alleged illegal arms possession.

Dasuki is standing trial on alleged illegal possession of firearms.

Trial judge, Justice Mohammed fixed the date after Dasuki’s Counsel, Mr Adeola Adedipe announced the pending application on behalf of his client on Tuesday

Dasuki had questioned the propriety of the prosecution led by Mr Oladipo Okpeseyi, (SAN) to try him when the Federal Government was in clear contempt of court order.

NAN reports that Dasuki, had formally written a letter dated Nov. 12 addressed to the Registrar of the court expressing worry over his continued detention.

He alleged that President Muhammadu Buhari had in his maiden media chart preempted the decision of the court on his trial.

He claimed that the president had said that the allegations brought against him were weighty and such that he could jump bail.

Dasuki also alleged that the prosecutorial agencies had so far lived up to the pronouncement of the president by denying him to enjoy his bails granted by several courts.

In the circumstance, Dasuki informed the court that he would no long submit himself for the trial until the prosecution respected his bail orders.

Aggrieved by Dasuki’s action, counsel to the federal government had on Nov.13 applied to the court to continue the trial in absentia, a prayer the judge granted on Nov.19.

At the resumed trial, however, counsel to Dasuki blocked the trial with the application he brought pursuant to Section 268 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) raising procedural and constitutional issues.

According to Dasuki, the competence of Okpeseyi to further prosecute or conduct the trial had to be decided before the trial could continue.

He asked the court to make an order directing Okpeseyi to produce the direction or advice of the Attorney- General of the Federation on his bail order made on July 2.

Dasuki had contended that his trial by Okpeseyi without compliance to  the court’s judgment could run contrary to documentary advice of the AGF.

Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu had on July 2, admitted Dasuki to bail in the sum of N200 million and declared that his continued detention by the DSS since 2015 as “illegal aberration in law’’.

NAN reports that the prosecution averred that some range of firearms without requisite licenses were on July, 17, 2015 found in Dasuki’s Asokoro, Abuja’s home.

The federal government alleged that Dasuki by such act had committed an offence punishable under Section 27 (1)(a) of the Firearms Act Cap F28 LFN 2004.

Dasuki was also accused of retaining unjustified sums of foreign currencies in the same house contrary to Section 15 (2) (d) of Money Laundering Prohibition Act 2011 among others.

Dasuki is also standing trial on allegation of misappropriation of 2.8 billion U.S. dollars meant for the procurement of arms for the military in 2015.

-NAN

BE

– Dec. 11, 2018 @ 16:29 GMT |