The Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission as told Justice Baba Yusuf of on Wednesday that the immediate past National
Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd.), refused to be brought to
court for his trial.
The EFCC is prosecuting Dasuki and his
co-accused person – a former Director of Finance and Administration in
the NSA office, Shuaibu Salisu, and a former General Manager, Nigerian
National Petroleum Corporation, Aminu Babakusa – on 19 counts of
diversion of N32bn meant for arms procurement.
Two companies – Acacia Holdings Limited
and Reliance Referral Hospital Limited – belonging to Babakusa, are also
defendants in the case.
Justice Yusuf had on February 8, after
dismissing the application by Dasuki, seeking an order prohibiting the
EFCC from further prosecuting him on account of his continued detention,
had fixed Wednesday for the trial to begin.
On Wednesday, however, Dasuki, who had
since December 29, 2015, remained in the custody of the Department of
State Services, was not produced in court.
His two lead counsel, Messrs Joseph Daudu (SAN) and Ahmed Raji (SAN), were also absent from the court.
But lead prosecuting counsel, Mr. Rotimi
Jacobs (SAN), informed the judge that Dasuki refused to be brought to
court because the senior lawyers, defending him, would not be present in
court on Wednesday.
Jacobs said,
“The first defendant said he would not be in court unless he is abducted because his lead counsel, J. B Daudu and Ahmed Raji, are not going to be in court.”
Jacobs said Daudu had informed him of an
application for stay of proceedings of the trial which was filed before
the Court of Appeal on behalf of the former NSA.
He maintained that the law never stopped an accused person in detention from facing trial.
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