From: GODWIN TSA, Abuja
EMBATTLED former National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki for the second time failed to stop his trial as a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) yesterday dismissed his application for lack of merit.
Dasuki had approached the court with an application seeking an order prohibiting the Federal Government and any of its agencies from further prosecuting him on the alleged diversion of public funds meant for the procurement of arms for the military or seeking any form of indulgence before any court in the country, until the order admitting him to bail was obeyed.
He also prayed for an order discharging him of all the offences contained in the charge on ground that the charge can not lawfully be prosecuted by a government that is in brazen contempt of a lawful court order.
Alternatively, Dasuki urged the court for an order staying further proceedings in the charge until he has exhausted the remedies available to him in law for the enforcement of his right to liberty as preserved by the bail order granted him.
But the trial judge, Justice Peter Affen in his ruling on the application cited Section 221 and 396 (2) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), stating that it is of common knowledge that Dasuki was re-arrested upon perfecting his bail condition
It will be recalled that Justice Yusuf Baba of a Federal High Court had also dismissed a similar application filed by Dasuki in which the court held that the Department of State Service (DSS) never disobeyed any court order in rearresting him.
Similarly, Justice Affen opined that it is common knowledge that Dasuki was rearrested upon perfecting his bail conditions, adding that even if the respondent (EFCC) was in contempt of court, it does not give the court the power to discharge Dasuki of the criminal charges levelled against him.
He held that the court did not make any order barring any other agency of government from arresting Dasuki for further investigation as regards the matter or any other one that might come up. The court averred that for the issue of contempt of court to be raised, there must be substantial evidence to prove that an order of the court has been disobeyed.
The court further held that there was inconsistency in the counter-affidavits deposed to in the further affidavits filed by Dasuki, as it was stated in one that it was the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) that arrested him and handed him over to the DSS, while another says he was arrested by the DSS.
The court held that the two agencies were even different agencies enacted by seperate Acts of the National Assembly, and that it has found no correlation before the disobedience of the court order and his rearrest to which he is seeking for his discharge from the case, adding that no material was placed before the court to prove that Dasuki had made moves to enforce his fundamental rights.
As such, the court dismissed the application for want of merit and adjourned the suit till April 20 and 22, 2016 for trial.