… Case
Adjourns to May 25, 2016
The
detention of the former National Security Adviser, Colonel Sambo Dasuki (Rtd)
since December 2015 which has prevented him from accessing his lawyers for
defence in criminal charges filed against him by the government scuttled the
trial before an Abuja High Court today.
The trial scheduled
to hold today before Justice Peter Affen could not hold as Dasuki maintained that
he has not been able to brief his legal team because of his continued detention
since last year after being granted bails by three different courts.
Dasuki who
was represented by his counsel, Mr. Ahmed Raji SAN, has however filed a motion
on notice before the court asking for the order of the court to direct the
federal government or any of its agents acting on its behalf to provide him
adequate time to prepare his defence in the 19 count charges of offences filed
against him and which he had been admitted to bail.
In the
motion dated April 19, Dasuki prayed the court to compel the federal government
to give access to any counsel of his choice during working days between Mondays
and Fridays at J.B Daudu Legal Chamber in Abuja pending hearing and
determination of the motion on notice filed at the court of appeal to stay
proceedings at the Abuja High Court.
The former
NSA also prayed the court to order the federal government to provide adequate
facilities for him in order to enable him study the charge and bundle of
evidences attached to the charges against him.
The new
motion was predicated on five grounds which include that he stands for trial on
a 19 count charge of offences that he had been admitted to bail and under Section
36 (b) of the 1999 Constitution he reserved the right to adequate time and
facilities from the preparation of his defence.
Dasuki also
claimed that he needed at least 20 interactive and instructive sessions with
his lawyers on record, or any counsel of his choice in the preparation of his
defence for trial.
In a 13-point
affidavit in support of the motion and sworn to by one Ahmed Usman, it was
averred that Dasuki was admitted to bail on December 21, 2015 and subsequently
met all the bail condition that he was released but was immediately rearrested
by the operatives of the Department of State Security Service (DSS) without any
court order.
The
Affidavit said “Since Dasuki’s rearrest he has not been allowed access to any
of his lawyers neither has he being provided with adequate facilities for him
to prepare his defence and that the continued detention since December 2015 has
denied him access to his lawyers and adequate facilities to study the charges
and get set for his trial.”
It was also
averred that Dasuki only see and discuss with his lawyers briefly whenever he
is produced in court on a date when the trial is slated before the High Court.
He therefore urged the court to order the complainant to obey the rule of law
in his trial in the interest of justice.
At the
resumed hearing today, EFCC Counsel, Mr. Olaoluwa Atelagbe told Justice Affem
that he has been served with a copy of Dasuki’s motion praying for access to
his lawyers.
The EFCC
counsel however requested for an adjournment to enable him to react to the
motion.
Meanwhile
the motion has been slated for May 25, 2016 for hearing.
No comments:
Post a Comment