The
Federal High Court in Abuja today was told that the weapons found in
the Asokoro residence of the former National Security Adviser, Colonel
Muhammadu Sambo Dasuki retired barely 48 hours after he left Office in
2015 belong to the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).
The
weapons were said to be for the use of the Security Details attached to
him as the National Security Adviser (NSA) for protection purposes.
These
were contained in Dasuki’s statement made to the operatives of the
Department of State Security Service (DSS) tendered and admitted as
exhibit by Justice Adeniyi Ademola in the ongoing trial of Dasuki on
charges of unlawful possession of arms.
A
prosecution witness, Mr. Samuel Ogbu who is an operative of DSS
indicated this when he was asked to read in the open court the statement
made by Dasuki during his interrogation by DSS before he was charged to
court.
Under cross examination by counsel to
Dasuki Mr. Ahmed Raji (SAN), the witness said that Dasuki in his
statement confirmed that weapons where for the ONSA and for the
protection of the NSA.
The
witness also said that Dasuki claimed in his written statement that the
weapons were to be returned to the ONSA by the security details at the
end of the day.
Ogwu
who was asked by Dasuki’s lawyer to read a portion of the statement of
the defendant to the open court admitted that Dasuki in the first
paragraph of his statement made it clear that the weapons belong to the
ONSA and not his personal belonging.
The
witness further said he could not remember the date Dasuki left office
as NSA but however insisted that the interrogation was conducted after
he had left office.
Answering another question,
the witness, who claimed to have spent 34 years in the service admitted
that the NSA is entitled to security details as the coordinator of
activities for all security agencies in the country.
The
operative claimed that the DSS did not issued the weapon to the former
NSA but admitted he would not know whether the weapons were issued to
Dasuki by the military authority.
Also under
cross examination, the witness admitted that he had never being to the
armory of the Nigerian Army, Airforce, Navy, Police, National
Intelligence Agency and DMI and would not know whether the weapons found
in Dasuki’s house were issued to him by any of the agencies.
“I
am aware that the Office of the NSA coordinates the activities of all
security agencies in this country comprising Police, Army, Airforce,
Navy, DSS, and DMI among others and my evidence in this trial relates
only to what happens in the DSS.”
Earlier in
his evidence in Chief, the witness had claimed that the house of Dasuki
was searched based on intelligence report and that some weapons
including powerful rifles were recovered.
He
said that as a follow-up to the recovery, he was invited to participate
in the interrogation of Dasuki to know the ownership of the weapons and
for what purposes they were meant in the house.
The
witness claimed that the interrogation was freely conducted and fully
recorded with electronic gadgets and that Dasuki’s statement was also
recorded when it was being made voluntarily.
Led
in evidence by the counsel to the Federal, Government, Chief Dipo
Okpeseyi (SAN), the witness said that the DSS decided to interrogate the
ex-NSA on the weapons because of their sophistication.
The
witness added that ordinarily such weapons were not usually issued to
ordinary individuals because of their capacities and that licence were
not usually issued to individuals to purchase or carry them.
Ogwu
told the court that parts of the guns, Tavor Assault Rifles were
imported into the country by the Federal Government following the crises
of the insurgency, especially Boko Haram so as to enable the country’s
security personnel to have an edge over terrorists.
Further hearing is expected to continue.
By PRNigeria
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