ABUJA, Federal Republic of Nigeria. Acting Chief Registrar of the Federal High Court, Emmanuel Gakko, yesterday denied that the court granted bail to former National Security Adviser, NSA, Col Sambo Mohammed Dasuki (rtd), and others in the sum of N250 million.
In a statement in Abuja yesterday, the registrar said contrary to reports in some newspapers, none of the Federal High Courts sitting in Abuja granted Dasuki and his co-defendants bail.
According to him, it was the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, presided over by Justice Peter Affen that admitted Dasuki to bail in the sum of N250m.
Dasuki, erstwhile Director of Finance in the Office of the NSA, Shuaibu Salisu, and former Executive Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, Aminu Babakusa, are facing a 19-count charge before Justice Hussein Baba Yusuf.
Dasuki was also docked in another 22-count charge before Justice Affen of the High Court of FCT along with Salisu, former Minister of State for Finance, Bashir Yuguda; former governor of Sokoto State, Attahiru Bafarawa; his son, Sagir, and two firms, Dalhatu Investment Limited and Jabbam Ada Global Services.
The defendants pleaded not guilty to all the charges slammed against them by the Federal Government, through the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, before the two courts.
After heated arguments on applications for bail of the defendants standing trial in the two courts, the two judges handling the two sets of charges had last month granted them bail on various terms.
Justice Yusuf granted bail to Dasuki and his codefendants in the 19-count charge in the sum of N200 million each, ordered them to produce a surety each, who must be a serving or retired civil servant not below the rank of a director and that the sureties must show evidence of ownership of a landed property in Abuja of the value not lower than N200 million.
He also ordered the defendants to surrender their international passports to the Registrar of the High Court, even as he forbade them to travel outside the jurisdiction without permission.
Affen, on his side, granted the defendants arraigned before him on a 22-count charge, bail in the sum of N250 million each with a surety in like sum.
The judge said the surety must be a serving or retired civil servant of not lower that the rank of a director and that the defendants must also submit their travel documents with the court registrar and that any travel plan outside Abuja must be communicated to the court.
Dasuki, along with his co-defendants, is accused of mis-spending about $2.1 billion meant for the purchase of weapons for the fight against Boko Haram insurgents in Northeastern Nigeria.
The Acting Chief Registrar of the Federal High Court, in his statement said, “It will be in the interest of the reporters and editors to note that these cases involving the accused persons are not before the Federal High Court of Nigeria as reported by some national dailies, but before Justices Hussein Baba Yusuf and Peter Affen of the High Court of the FCT.”
The statement said the Federal High Court of Nigeria is different from the High Court of FCT, which has their respective jurisdiction and enjoined judicial correspondents and their editors to cross-check facts before publication.
Meanwhile, Peoples Democratic Party chieftain, Dr. Raymond Dokpesi, has said the $2.1 billion arms deal is a creation of the All Progressives Congress, APC-led Federal Government to witch-hunt and decimate the leadership and membership of PDP.
Dokpesi, who was recently granted bail in connection with N2.1 billion allegedly paid to his company by the office of the former National Security Adviser, NSA, however expressed confidence that the courts would sooner or later prove that “this coinage” is nothing but a hoax.
“It is meant to destroy the existence of PDP. The persecution of the former National Security Adviser, the persecution of the National Publicity Secretary, the persecution of our Chairman of Board of Trustees, will fail when we begin defense,” he assured. Dokpesi was speaking at an investiture on him by PDP Youth Vanguard as ‘Freedom Fighter of PDP.’
He however, said he would not make any comment regarding the several matters filed before the courts against him and other members of PDP, “as doing so would be sub judice.”
Dokpesi said Nigerians “are reminded of the events of 1984/85 which by any stretch of comparison are similar to the events of today.”
Dokpesi said PDP was at a key stage of development as it embarks on critical reforms to reorganise, rebrand and restructure itself for the challenges of governance, but regretted that the governing APC “is making efforts to impede our journey to political maturity through the manipulation of the federal system to serve purely partisan interest.”
National Coordinator of PDP Youth Vanguard, Ibrahim Bala Aboki, condemned what he called the witch-hunt of PDP members by the governing party.
Aboki decried the Federal Government’s selective anti-corruption war and continuous arrest of PDP members by the anticorruption agency.
“We say no to corruption, no to rampant killings in Nigeria, no to intimidation of the judiciary by APC government, no to political brigandage by APC government, no to selective justice, no to continuous arrest of PDP members, no to political vengeance, no to hunger in Nigeria,” he declared.
Credit: National Mirror (Nigeria)
