Sambo Dasuki Drags FG To ECOWAS Court, Demands N500m Damages

Dragging the Federal government to court is like
the kinda thing that happens when you just got saved from an eagle by your family, and you still of fighting the again on your own, I wonder how your family will save you this time

The immediate past National Security Adviser
(NSA), Col. Mohammed Sambo Dasuki (retd),
has dragged the Federal Government of Nigeria
before ECOWAS Court in Abuja, over his
continued detention. He is also demanding
payment of N500million damages for alleged
rights infringement.
This is even as a Federal High Court in Abuja
yesterday ordered the government to produce
him by February 16.
Dasuki is also urging the sub-regional court to
order his release forthwith.
In the suit filed by his lawyer, Robert
Emukpoeruo, the former NSA is urging the court
to declare among others, that his continued
detention in defiance of orders for his bail
granted by three courts, and after fulfilling the
bail conditions, was ''unlawful, arbitrary and an
egregious violation'' of his human rights.
The applicant also urged the ECOWAS Court to
hold that it was, ''a most egregious violation of
the treaty obligations'' signed by Nigeria under
and by virtue of its being a signatory to legal
instruments, to have unlawfully detained him
under a ''de-humanizing condition'' after he had
been granted bail and met the conditions for his
release.
Similarly, the former NSA would want the court
to declare that the alleged invasion of his
privacy, home and correspondence at his Abuja
and Sokoto residences on July 16 and 17, 2015
and the ''forceful and unlawful seizure'' of his
properties, ''without any lawful order or warrant''
constituted a gross violation of his fundamental
rights and offended the country's treaty
obligations as a signatory to the listed legal
instruments.
Meanwhile, Justice Adeniyi Ademola of the
Federal High Court, Abuja, yesterday ordered
Dasuki be produced in court on February 16
following his absence in court without any
reason.
The judge said it was mandatory for a defendant
in a criminal matter to be physically present in
court at every stage of the prosecution except
where the presence was an excuse.
Dasuki's counsel, Mr. Joseph Daudu (SAN), had
also complained that his client was abducted by
security agents six weeks ago to an unknown
destination. He told Justice Ademola that since
the ex-NSA was whisked away, all efforts by his
family and his lawyers to access him had been
scuttled.
Daudu recalled that in three different High
Courts where Dasuki was arraigned by the
Federal Government, his client was admitted to
bail, regretting that till date, the government and
its agents have refused to allow Dasuki go on
bail. He urged the judge to compel the Federal
Government and its agents to respect the
court's decision, having joined issues with the
defendant in court.
Justice Ademola said: ''I am worried that the
accused is not here. I do not want to set a bad
precedent. Except the court gives express order
for the defendant not to be in court, the accused
must be brought to court from wherever he is.
The accused must be here because I am not
sure if what I am doing right now in the absence
of the accused is not an illegality.
''Government and whoever is concerned must
endeavour to do the necessary thing. The
accused having been formally charged in court,
must be produced in court for trial on the
appointed days in compliance with the
provisions of the law.'' He said.
Earlier, counsel to the Federal Government, Mr.
Dikpo Okpeseyi (SAN), said he applied for
withdrawal of an application he had filed,
seeking revocation of bail granted Dasuki on
November 3 last year.
The judge consequently struck out the
application and announced that the ruling would
be delivered on February 16 in a pending
government application, seeking secret trial of
the former NSA.
The government arraigned Dasuki on charges of
unlawful possession of fire-arms, breach of trust
and money laundering.
Meanwhile, Dasuki's trial has been fixed for
February 16 and 17 before Justice Ademola.