Dasuki’s re-arraignment stalled due to dad’s death

THE scheduled re-arraignment of the immediate former National Security Adviser (NSA), Colonel Mohammed Sambo Dasuki (retd), before Justice Baba Yusuf of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court, on Wednesday, could not hold due to the death of his father, Alhaji Ibrahim Dasuki, who was the 18th Sultan of Sokoto.

Dasuki and four others, Shuaibu Salisu, a former Director of Finance and Administration, Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA); Aminu Babakusa, a former General Manager, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC); Acacia Holdings Limited and Reliance Referral Hospital Limited are being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on a 19-count charge bordering on money laundering and criminal breach of trust to the tune of N13,570,000,000 before Justice Hussein Baba-Yusuf.

EFCC is prosecuting the former NSA and four others: Bashir Yuguda, a former Minister of State for Finance; Alhaji Attahiru Bafarawa, a former governor of Sokoto State; his son, Sagir and their firm, Dalhatu Investment, in another case of N13 billion fraud before Justice Peter Afem of FCT High Court 24.

Based on the request of lawyers involved in the case, the Chief Judge of the FCT High Court, Justice Ishaq Bello, streamlined the two cases at two different courts and transferred both to Justice Baba-Yusuf.

Justice Baba Yusuf had, on October 21, 2016 when the cases were transferred to his court, fixed Wednesday, November 16 for the rearrangement of the former NSA and others before him.

However, the trial was put off at the instance of both prosecution and defence teams as a mark of sympathy for Colonel Dasuki (retd) over the demise of his father, who died in Abuja on Monday and was buried on Tuesday in Sokoto.

One of the former NSA’s lawyers, Mr Ahmed Raji, told journalists at the court premises that both sides in the trial jointly agreed to adjourn the trial giving the fact that the mood was not proper for Dasuki’s trial.

The former NSA, who has been in the Department of State Security (DSS) custody since last December, was for undisclosed reasons not in court on Wednesday but Raji told journalists that Dasuki was still mourning the death of his father.

The senior advocate informed that though the matter did not officially come up before Justice Yusuf, lawyers from both sides in the case agreed that it was not proper to proceed with the trial at a time Dasuki was mourning.

They jointly agreed for an adjournment till Wednesday, December 7, 2016.