A former National Security Adviser, Col.
Sambo Dasuki (retd.), who is being prosecuted for two sets of charges
before two judges of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Abuja,
has yet to meet the conditions of the bail granted him last Friday and
on Monday.
A source close to the ex-NSA confirmed
to our correspondent at about 10pm on Wednesday that Dasuki and some of
the accused persons had yet to meet the bail conditions, particularly
the ones granted them last Friday.
Wednesday being the last working day
before Christmas and Eid-el-Malud, the possibility of the former NSA and
the other defendants remaining in prison during the festivities is
almost certain.
The Federal Government has declared
Thursday (today) as Eid-el-Malud holiday, while Friday and Monday have
been declared as Christmas and Boxing Day holiday respectively.
Justice Baba Yusuf had, on December 18,
granted bail to Dasuki and his co-accused persons in the sum of N250m
with one surety in relation to 19 counts of misappropriation of about
N32bn meant for purchase of arms preferred against them by the Economic
and Financial Crimes Commission.
On December 21, Justice Peter Affen
granted another bail to Dasuki and his co-defendants with respect to 22
counts of misappropriation of about N13bn, which the EFCC alleged was
part of the arms purchase fund, in the sum of N250m with two sureties in
like sum.
In line with the order by Justice Affen,
Dasuki and the other accused persons were moved to Kuje Prison on
Monday, pending when they would meet their bail conditions.
Before the ruling, both Justices Yusuf
and Affen had ordered the accused to be remanded in the EFCC custody
pending when ruling on their bail applications would be delivered.
It was learnt that the defendants, with
respect to the charges before Justice Yusuf, were finding it difficult
to meet the conditions imposed on them.
The terms of the N250m bail require each
of the accused persons to produce one surety, who must be a serving or
retired federal civil servant not below the rank of a director and must
also have N250m worth of property in the FCT.
“The condition, which they (the accused
persons) are finding difficult to meet is getting a civil servant in the
director cadre, who has N250m worth of property. In fact, the EFCC
people are waiting for a civil servant who will come out to say that he
has N250m,” a source said.
The source said the EFCC operatives were
watching both in court and at the prisons steps being taken by the
accused persons in the process of meeting their bail conditions.
“The only problem we have is the fear by
these potential sureties that they could be arrested by EFCC
operatives, like it happened in the case of a former Governor of Adamawa
State, Boni Haruna, whose surety suddenly withdrew after being
intimidated by the EFCC,” the source said.
Other co-accused persons, who are also
under the bail conditions imposed by Justice Yusuf, are a former
Director of Finance and Administration in the Office of the NSA, Shuaibu
Salisu; a former Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum
Corporation, Aminu Baba-Kusa; and his two companies, Acacia Holdings
Limited and Reliance Referral Hospital Limited.
Among other conditions imposed on Dasuki
and others by the judge was that the sureties must swear to an
affidavit of means to show that they have the wherewithal to offset the
N250m bail sum should the accused persons abscond from trial.
The accused persons were also ordered to deposit their passports and other travel documents with the court.
The judge also ordered that the accused persons must seek permission from the court before they could travel outside the FCT.
It was learnt that the accused persons
found it easy to meet the conditions imposed by Justice Affen with
respect to the charges of misappropriation of N13bn.
Apart from Dasuki, others in the second
category are Salisu, a former Governor of Sokoto State, Attahiru
Bafarawa; his son, Sagir Attahiru; a firm, Dalhatu Investment and a
former Minister of State for Finance, Bashir Yuguda.
The EFCC is prosecuting the set of
defendants on 22 counts of misappropriation of about N13bn between
August 2013 and May 7, 2015.
They pleaded not guilty to 22 counts of
conspiracy, dishonest receipt of stolen property in breach of sections
97 and 317 of the Penal Code Act as well as receipt of proceeds of
criminal conduct in breach of Section 17(b) of the EFCC Act.
The judge also ruled that should the
EFCC require the accused persons to appear in its offices for further
questioning on any future charges it intended to prefer against them,
they should only be interrogated only between 9 am and 6pm and be
allowed to go home.
He ruled that the anti-graft agency could only do otherwise with an order of “a superior court of record”.
The judge said the bail conditions were
imposed in consideration of the terms of the bail granted by Justice
Yusuf to Dasuki and Salisu with respect to the case of alleged
misappropriation of N32bn preferred against the accused persons.
Justice Affen has fixed February 2 and 3 for trial.
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