It
was a solemn moment at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT),
Abuja, as Dasuki’s trial, over alleged $2.1 billion fraud, was put off in
honour of his late father, the 18th Sultan of Sokoto.
Although
Dasuki was not in court, there was an agreement between the prosecution and
defence counsel that the matter be adjourned.
They
all agreed that it was not proper to proceed with the trial in view of the mood
of the defendant.
Counsel
to Dasuki, Mr. Ahmed Raji told newsmen his client was still mourning the sudden
death of his father.
Raji
disclosed that although the matter was not officially mentioned before the trial Judge, Justice Baba Yusuf , all
lawyers involved in the matter felt that the period was not good for the trial
and hence their joint agreement for an adjournment till December 7..
Apart
from Dasuki, all other defendants in the matter comprising former Sokoto State
governor, Attahiru Bafarawa, former minister of state for Finance, Alhaji
Bashir Yuguda, Director of Finance and Supply in the Office of the National
Security Adviser (ONSA), Salisu Shuaibu
and Alhaji Aminu Baba Kusa were in court.
The
federal government had, on Tuesday, claimed that it granted permission to the
detained ex-NSA to go Sokoto to mourn and pay the last respect to his father
but that the offer was turned down on the ground that his detention was
unwarranted, unlawful and unconstitutional and that he would prefer to pray for
the sultan in custody. “As his counsel,
we were not aware of that offer. Our client did not tell us anything of that
nature. We would have expected that if such a gesture was going to be made to
him, we, as his counsel, should have been involved so that we can advise him
properly. As I speak to you, I am hearing of this for the first time.”
Raji
said there was no basis for the continued detention of Dasuki by government
having being granted bail by three different High Courts, in Abuja, on the
charges against him as well as the order of the ECOWAS court for his
unconditional release.
in
the case for the enforcement of his fundamental rights to freedom of liberty.
He
said “Dasuki has been granted three bails and one outright judgment for his
release by the ECOWAS court which is binding on Nigeria.”
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