The Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday requested that the preliminary of kept previous National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, on charges of tax evasion and illicit ownership of guns would continue in his nonappearance.
Justice Ahmed Mohammed, in making the
order, invoked the provision of section 352(4) of the Administration of
Criminal Justice Act 2015, which allows the trial of a defendant to proceed
in their
absence if there is no reasonable explanation for the absence of the
defendant.
The judge fixed December 11 for the
continuation of trial with or without Dasuki in court.
He noted that the ex-NSA, who will be three
years old in the custody of the Department of State Services by December 30,
2018, wrote a letter dated November 12,
2018 to the court informing the court
of his unwillingness to appear in court
for his trial.
Justice Mohammed added that Dasuki’s
letter, coupled with his absence
from court on November 13, the day after he wrote the letter, and on
Monday, had shown that he was no longer
interested in appearing in court for trial.
The judge ruled, “It is very clear that the
defendant is not willing to be attending court for his trial.
“I hereby invoke the provision of section
352(4) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act by ordering the trial
proceed in his absence.”
Earlier moving the application for the
invocation of section 354(2) of ACJA, the prosecuting counsel, Mr. Dipo
Okpeseyi (SAN), informed the court that the prosecution had complied with the
earlier order of the court directing the prosecution to file an affidavit
stating that the ex-NSA had refused to attend court.
He noted that the retired military
officer had refused to attend four court
sessions since January 2018.
Okpeseyi said, “He has been absent for four
times. To compound the effrontery, he wrote to this court.
“That is a direct challenge to the
authorities of this court.
“We urge this court not to take the
challenge lightly.”
But opposing the application, defence
counsel, Mr. Victor Okwudiri, challeged the competence of the affidavit, which
he said failed to bear the seal of the
lawyer who deposed to it.
He maintained that the failure to affix the
lawyer’s seal to the affidavit amounted to a breach of Rule 10(1), (2), (3) of
the Rules of Professional Conduct.
Okwudiri added that the affidavit failed to
comply with the earlier order of the court which, according to him, directed
the prosecution to state the fact that Dasuki had failed to appear in court in respect of the day’s proceedings.
He said in contravention of the said
directive, the prosecution had only given an account of the alleged instances
of alleged previous refusal of the defendant to come to court but not for
Monday’s proceedings.
But dismissing the grounds of objection,
Justice Mohammed noted that the affidavit was filed in accordance with the
court’s earlier directive.
He said the affidavit did not breach the Rules of Professional Conduct for Legal
Practitioners as alleged by the defence counsel, as the lawyer who deposed to
it did so in her capacity as a witness and not as a lawyer.
Dasuki
had in his letter urged the court
to stop his trial on the grounds of the Federal Government’s continued refusal
to comply with the series of court
orders granting him bail.
He cited five court orders, including one
by the Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States that
ordered his release but continued to be violated by the Federal Government.
His letter dated November 12, 2018 was
addressed to the Registrar of the Federal High Court, Abuja.
The letter personally signed by
Dasuki, was titled, ‘Unabated
persecution of Col. Mohammed Sambo ( retd.) by the Federal Government of
Nigeria’.
He stated in the letter, “At this point, I
strongly believe that there must be an end to this hypocrisy and
lopsided/partisan rule of law.
“Since the Federal Government has resolved
not to comply with judicial orders directing my release, it is better for the
court to also absolve me of the need to submit myself for further prosecution.
“Justice should be evenly dispensed, as
opposed to same, being in favour of the Federal Government of Nigeria.”
Dasuki is currently being prosecuted on
three sets of charges with two of the sets relating to his alleged diversion of
funds meant for the purchase of arms,
which is pending before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory,
Maitama, Abuja, and the other set bordering on illegal possession of firearms
and money laundering pending before the Federal High Court in Abuja.
He narrated in his letter how he had at different times been granted bail by the
courts in respect of the three sets of charges but the Federal Government
refused to comply with the orders.
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