I'm ready for my trial to clear my name --Dasukigate

The former National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd), has restated his desire to have free access to his lawyers to enable him defend himself and clear allegations on the criminal charges of unlawful possession of fire arms brought against him by the federal government.

Dasuki told Federal High Court in Abuja that the Federal Government no longer has moral and legal rights to continue his trial having disobeyed the order of bail granted him since 3 November, 2015.
In his argument by his counsel, Mr. Joseph Daudu (SAN), Dasuki premised his prayer on the fact that the government is in contempt of the court in relation to the charges filed against him.
Daudu while arguing the motion claimed that since 3 November, 2015, when his client was re-arrested by operatives of the Department of State Service (DSS), after perfecting the bail conditions, he has since been held in custody without trial or reasons made known to him.
The counsel insisted that the bail order that admitted Dasuki to bail remained valid having not been reviewed or set aside by the court and as such it must be obeyed in the interest of justice.

He claimed that his client cannot be lawfully prosecuted by government because his right to prepare adequately for his defence as enshrined in the bail and the constitution has been violated because he has been kept away from his lawyers.
The counsel also stated that section 36 of the 1999 constitution presumes his client innocent until the guilt has been established against him and that for now, the provision of the law has been turned upside down by his re-arrest without trial since last year.



“We must state here that since his re-arrest at the Kuje Prison after perfecting his bail condition, we have not been allowed access to him. We are at the crossroads and only the court can right the wrong in this matter so that the defendant will have time and facilities to defend himself.
“Investors are watching the court and the situation, especially where government is choosing to disobey a lawful court. Absolutely power corrupts absolutely, and we must not send a wrong signal to the outside world that we have no regard for the rulling.
He therefore urged the court to prohibit the trial of Dasuki until the government has done the needful.
However, in his opposition to the application, counsel to the Federal Government, Mr. Dipo Okpeseyi (SAN), urged the court not to grant the application because its purpose was to frustrate the trial and restrain the power to prosecute a criminal charge.
Okpeseyi claimed that the bail granted the defendant did not prohibit his re-arrest in connection with any other matter.
Okpeseyi also claimed that no material was placed before the court to show that the government violated the bail order and that there was also no evidence that government is preventing him from defending himself.
Okpeseyi argued that merely looking at Dasuki, he is looking clean, fresh and well-catered for in the custody.
He therefore urged the court to dismiss the application.
After listening to arguments from both parties, Justice Ademola fixed ruling on the application for 4 April, 2016.

We Will Not Involve Jonathan- EFCC

The Economic and Financial Crimes commission (EFCC) on Tuesday said it could effectively prosecute the trial of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) spokesman, Olisa Metuh, without involving former President Goodluck Jonathan in the case. EFCC’s position followed Metuh’s argument that since Jonathan wasitial esidential campaign, the ex-president is a necessary witness in the case. Metuh and his company, Destra Investment Limited, are being tried before the Federal High court, Abuja, for allegedly receiving N400m from the office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) for security services, which he allegedly diverted to fund his party’s activities. They are also accused of flouting the money laundering Act by making $2m suspicious investment. At the conclusion of the prosecution’s witness last week, Metuh filed a no-case submission in court. In the application, he argued among others, that the prosecution has failed to make out a prima facie case against him by not inviting Jonathan as its witness. The EFCC in its response argued that it had conveniently made out a case against Metuh for which the court should direct him to enter defence. The commission argued that Jonathan is not a necessary prosecution witness, saying it has effectively established its case with the number of witnesses invited to testify in court. It urged the court to dismiss Metuh’s no-case argument.Extract from Osun defender

Ex-PDP BoT chair in fresh N300m arms scam

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on Monday filed before a Federal High Court in Abuja a fresh evidence of N300m allegedly received by a former Chairman, Board of Trustee of the Peoples Democratic Party, Haliru Bello, from the Office of the National Security Adviser, on February 27, 2015.

The EFCC had on January 5, 2015 arraigned Bello, his son, Abba, and a firm, BAM Project and Properties Limited (owned by Abba), on four counts of money laundering involving a separate sum of N300m security funds which they allegedly received from ONSA last March.

An

operative of the EFCC, Rouqayyat Ibrahim, who opened her testimony as the first prosecution witness on February 16, 2016, said on Tuesday that investigation had further revealed that Bello received N300m from ONSA in two tranches of N150m each.

The two N150m transactions, which were said to have been carried out on the same day of February 27, 2015, were not captured in the four counts against the accused persons.

Our correspondent learnt that the EFCC had taken the decision to amend the pending charges and that the defendants would only be made to take a fresh plea after which the case would continue from where it was stopped.

Ibrahim, who was led in evidence by the EFCC’s lead prosecuting counsel, Mr. Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), testified on Monday that the sum of N300m was transferred to BAM Project and Properties Limited from the account of Jabbamer Ada Global Services Limited on the instructions of the then Minister of State for Finance, Bashir Yuguda.

According to the witness, before the discovery of the N300m payment, Jabbamer was already being investigated for about N1.5bn it had received from ONSA.

Ibrahim said, “The analysis of the statement of account of BAM Project with Sterling Bank revealed that the account received a total of N300m in two tranches of N150m each on February 27, 2015.

“On that day (February 27, 2015), transfers of N150m and another N150m were made into the account of BAM Projects with Sterling Bank.

“Before then, we were already investigating Jabbamer Ada Global Services Limited in a different matter.

“We discovered that Jabbamer Ada Global Services Limited was a bureau de change firm and that the company received payments of a little over N1.5bn from ONSA. The company also received payments from the Nigerian Air Force and the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation and several other sources.

“We interviewed the owner of the company and account and he stated that all the deposits I mentioned earlier (into Jabbamer Ada Global Services Limited) were made on the instructions of the former Minister of State for Finance, Bashir Yuguda, and that the disbursement of the funds were on his (Bashir Yuguda’s) instructions, including the transfer of N300m which he made to BAM.”

“He (Yuguda) is currently standing trial in court in respect of the same matter. Effectively, the complaint against the defendants is with respect to N600m. They (the defendants) said they used it for the 2015 election of the PDP.”

The trial judge, Justice Ahmed Mohammed, on Monday, admitted as exhibits the account of the ONSA with the Central Bank of Nigeria and other documents.

The case was adjourned till March 3 for the cross-examination of the witness by the defence lawyers – Mr. Solomon Umoh (SAN) for Abba; Mr. Ogala Osoka for BAM Projects and Properties Limited and Chief Kanu Agabi (SAN), for Bello.

Ibrahim had, on February 16 while opening her evidence, given details of how Bello, his son, and BAM Project and Properties allegedly shared the initial N300m security funds for election campaign activities of the PDP.

The prosecutor alleged that instead of using the money to provide “safe houses” – the purpose for which it was released to them by ONSA- the accused persons used the money to foot personal bills and shared the money to some corporate bodies for the campaign activities of the PDP.

Ibrahim testified that the N300m was part of the N30bn released