ABUJA (Sundiata Post) – The Federal High Court (FHC) of Nigeria, has clarified that it never granted the former National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Mohammed Sambo Dasuki (rtd) and others bail in the sum of N250 million but that the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) did.
The Acting Chief Registrar of the court, Mr. Emmanuel Gakko, made this clarification in a statement on Wednesday, saying that none of the FHC sitting in Abuja granted Dasuki and his co-defendants bail in the sum of N250 million but the High Court of the FCT presided over by Justices Peter Affen and Hussein Baba-Yusuf.
Gakko noted that the FHC 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.
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 Justice Hussein Baba Yusuf and Justice Peter Affen of the High Court of the FCT.”
Dasuki, the erstwhile Director of Finance in the Office of the NSA (ONSA), Mr. Shuaibu Salisu and former Executive Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mr. Aminu Babakusa, are facing a 19-count charge before Justice Baba Yusuf.
In the same vein, Dasuki was also docked in another 22-count charge before Justice Affen of another High Court of the FCT along with Salisu, a former Minister of State for Finance, Bashir Yuguda, a former governor of Sokoto State, Attahiru Bafarawa, his son, Sagir and two firms, Dalhatu Investment Limited and Jabbam Ada Global Services.
All 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 FCT High Courts.[pro_ad_display_adzone id=”70560″]
But 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 Baba-Yusuf granted bail to Dasuki and his co-defendants in the19-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 forbids them from travelling outside the jurisdiction without permission.
Justice Affen, on the other hand, 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.
Affen 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 are accused of misappropriation of about $2.1 billion meant for the purchase of weapons for the fight against the Boko Haram insurgents in the North-Eastern part of Nigeria.
The former NSA is still under detention despite meeting the bail conditions.