The Federal Government will on Tuesday arraign
former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo
Dasuki (retd.), before a Federal High Court in
Abuja for allegedly being in possession of firearms
without license.
The Department of State Security Service, DSS,
had, in a statement by one of its officials, Tony
Opuiyo, on August 24, 2015, said that it had
charged Dasuki with the alleged offence.
Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice
Ibrahim Auta, had on Friday assigned the case to
Justice Adeniyi Ademola, who is the court’s
vacation judge.
The DSS said it had charged Dasuki with
possession of firearms without licence, an offence
punishable under section 27(I)(a)(I) of the
Firearms Act Cap F28 Laws of the Federation of
Nigeria 2004, based on evidence so far obtained.
The Federal Ministry of Justice had since taken
over the case.
It was learnt that the trial which ought to have
started last week was postponed due to the
directive of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice
Mahmmud Mohammed, to various heads of court
not to sit throughout the week to enable lawyers
and interested judges to participate in the just-
concluded one week-long Annual Bar Conference
of the Nigerian Bar Association.
The DSS had searched Dssuki's home and
claimed that it searched it “based on credible
intelligence linking the immediate past NSA with
alleged plans to commit treasonable felony
against the Nigerian state.”
The statement partly read:
“You may recall that on July 16, 2015, the
Department of State Services carried out search
operations on properties belonging to the
immediate past National Security Adviser, Col.
Mohammed Sambo Dasuki (retd.), in Abuja and
Sokoto.
“This action was necessitated by credible
intelligence, which linked him to acts capable of
undermining national security. The search
operations led to the recovery of large cache of
arms and ammunition among other things and for
which further investigation was conducted.
“Consequently, on Monday, August 24, 2015, he
was charged to court based on evidence so far
obtained, but which relates to possession of
firearms without licence punishable under section
27(i)(a)(i) of the Firearms Act Cap F28 LFN
2004.”
The secret service said Dasuki’s arraignment was
in line with democratic practice and “our avowed
commitment to the rule of law, in which nobody is
deemed to be above the law, no matter how
highly placed in the society.”
Punch
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