Charges Against Sambo Dasuki Can’t Be Merged, Says Court

Former NSA Sambo Dasuki

A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has refused the request by the former National Security Adviser (NSA), Colonel Sambo Dasuki (rtd) to merge the two sets of charges against him.

Justice Baba-Yusuf. the presiding judge, said this is because of the number of defendants involved in the charges. The merging of both charges, he said, would make the trial difficult for the court to manage.

In his ruling on the matter which was brought forward by Dasuki’s desire not to suffer double jeopardy, Justice Baba Yusuf said the applicant had not shown to the court that he had been tried or convicted for the same offence before any other court.

He further held that the fear of double jeopardy was not substantiated because trials in the two charges had not fully started.

Justice Baba-Yusuf said that it is premature for the applicant to raise the issue of double jeopardy and abuse of court process more especially when there was no evidence pointing to that direction yet in the trial.

Furthermore, a merging, apart from being premature, will mitigate against the accelerated trial of the two trial charges.

Dasuki, who has been in detention after being granted multiple bails by courts, has accused the FG of instituting various criminal charges against him on just one issue of the office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA). This, he believes, is in a bid to nail a crime to him by hook or crook.

In his argument, Joseph Daudu (SAN), the defendant’s counsel,  he said it is wrong in law and even against natural justice for the government to prosecute him on two different charges on the same alleged arms fund diversion.

Others parties in the matter are the former Director of Finance and Administration, Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), Shuaibu Salisu; former General Manager, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Aminu Babakusa and two firms: Acacia Holdings Limited and Reliance Referral Hospital Limited.

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