Justice Hussein Baba of the Federal Capital Territory High Court has
ordered that former national security adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki
and the director, Finance and Administration at the NSA’s office,
Shuaibu Salisu, be remanded in the custody of the Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission (EFCC) till today (December 15), pending the hearing
of their bail applications.
Dasuki and two others were arraigned
before the court on 19 fresh charges bordering on alleged illegal
diversion of public funds, to which they all pleaded not guilty.
Subsequently,
the EFCC counsel, Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), urged the court to fix a date
for parties in the trial to argue the bail application of the accused
persons.
On his part, counsel to Dasuki, Ahmed Raji (SAN) informed the court that they had filed an application for Dasuki’s bail.
Raji prayed the court for time to file a reply to the prosecution’s counter affidavit.
Consequently, Justice Baba adjourned hearing of the various applications till today, Tuesday, December 15 at 12 noon.
The
defendants include Col. Sambo Dasuki (1st defendant), Shuaibu Salisu
(2nd), Aminu Baba-Kusa (3rd), Acacia Holdings Ltd (4th) and Reliance
Referral Hospital Hospital Ltd (5th) defendants.
According to the
charge sheet read to the accused persons by the court registrar, the sum
of N1.45 billion was transferred into the account of Acacia Holdings
Ltd for special prayers; N170 million for the purchase of a four-bedroom
duplex; N2.1 billion was paid into the account of DAAR Investment and
Holding Company Ltd ; N380 million was shared to support re-election of
members of the House of Representatives, and another N750 million was
paid into the account of Reliance Referral Hospital Ltd for special
prayers.
Other expenditures include the payment of N670 million to
a publisher; the transfer of N260 million to Chief Tony Anenih and
another N345 million traced to Dr. Iyorchia Ayu, former Senate
president.
The charges in part read: “That you Col. Mohammed Sambo
Dasuki whilst being NSA and Shaibu Salisu, whilst being the director,
Finance and Administration in the Office of the National Security
Adviser, and Hon. Waripamowei Dudafa (now at large) whilst bring senior
special assistant, Domestic Affairs, to the president on or about 27th
November within the jurisdiction of this honourable court entrusted with
dominion over certain properties to wit: the sum of N10billion being
part of the funds in the account of the NSA with the CBN, the equivalent
of which sum you received from the CBN in foreign currencies to wit:
$47million and €5.6million Euros, committed criminal breach of trust in
respect of the said property when you claimed to have distributed same
to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential primary election
delegates and you thereby committed an offence punishable under Section
315 of the Penal Code Act, Cap 532, Vol.4, LFN 2004.
“That you
Col. Sambo Dasuki and Shaibu Salisu, between 22nd January 2015 and 19th
March, 2015, in Abuja, entrusted with dominion over certain properties
to wit: N2,120,000,000 which was in the account of NSA with the CBN,
committed criminal breach of trust in respect of the said property by
remitting the said sum into the account of DAAR Investment and Holding
Company Ltd controlled by one Dr. Raymond Dokpesi for the funding of
media activities for the 2015 Presidential Election Campaign for the PDP
and you thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 315 of
the Penal Code Act, Cap 532, Vol.4, LFN 2004.”
Dasuki and Salisu
were also charged with paying N90million into the account of Brains and
Hammers Ltd for the purchase of seven-bedroom duplex house at No.11
Mansur Bamalli Drive (D1064), Apo 1, Abuja, and thereby committed an
offence punishable under Section 315 of the Penal Code Act, Cap 532,
Vol.4, LFN 2004.
Court Grants Dokpesi N200m Bail
Justice Gabriel Kolawole of a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has granted the former chairman of DAAR Communication Plc, High Chief Raymod Dokpesi, bail on stringent conditions.
Dokpesi
had pleaded not guilty to the six-count criminal charge preferred
against him by the federal government over his alleged complicity in the
N2.1 billion arms deal fraud.
Dokpesi’s counsel, Chief Mike Ozekhome, a senior advocate, last Friday argued his bail application.
Delivering
ruling yesterday, the trial judge, Justice Kolawole, admitted Dokpesi
to bail in the sum of N200 million, with two sureties in like sum.
The
court added that one of the sureties must be a retired or serving
director with the federal or state civil service and that such person,
if retired, should produce a gazette that he retired at that level. In
the case of a serving director, the court held that such a person must
bring a letter of introduction from the permanent secretary.
The
second surety, according to the court, must be an entrepreneur with
three years’ tax clearance and must possess a landed property worth N200
million in Abuja.
The sureties are also to swear to an affidavit, that in the event that Dokpesi escapes, the money will be forfeited outright.
The
court ordered the EFCC to deposit the accused’s international passport
with the registry of the court, and said that any time Dokpesi need’s to
travel out, he must apply to the court and give cogent reasons.
Justice
Kolawole further ordered that no government agency should re-arrest
Dokpesi, adding that any agency that wants him for interrogation should
invite him through his counsel, and that his lawyer, upon invitation,
should produce him between the hours of 8am and 6pm.
The court
held that anything outside the order will constitute a violation of
court order and corruption. It further ordered that Dokpesi be remanded
in Kuje prison pending the perfection of the bail terms.
Alleged N5.7bn Theft: Drama In Court As EFCC Re-arrests Ex-NIMASA Boss
A
mild drama occurred yesterday as a detachment of mobile policemen,
accompanied by some operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission (EFCC), re-arrested the former director-general of Nigeria
Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Patrick
Akpobolokemi, at the premises of Federal High Court in Lagos.
The
drama started when Akpobolokemi, who was at the court to attend his
ongoing trial before Justice Ibrahim Buba, was leaving the court
premises after the case was adjourned till 18 January, 2016, for trial.
The
former NIMASA boss, who is facing two different charges of stealing and
diversion of money running into billions of naira, was accosted by two
EFCC operatives and two armed policemen who told him about the order for
his arrest.
But the encounter degenerated into a scuffle when
Akpobolokemi tried to resist arrest, a situation which made the two
armed policemen call for reinforcement.
Four other lurking policemen joined their colleagues and overpowered him.
They
forcefully bundled him into a waiting bus and whisked him away to the
bewilderment of his lawyers who helplessly watched the whole drama.
Akpobolokemi
and nine others were first arraigned before Justice Saliu Saidu on
December 3, 2015, on a 30-count charge of conspiracy, criminal
conversion and laundering the sum of N3.1 billion.
The anti-graft
agency claimed that the accused persons allegedly conspired among
themselves to convert and launder the sums under the guise of providing
security intelligence around the Maritime domain.
The following
date, December 4, 2015, the anti-graft agency also arraigned the form
NIMASA DG and five others before Justice Buba on a 22-count charge of
stealing the sum of N2.5 billion.
Akpolobokemi and other accused persons have, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges.
At
the resumed hearing of the matter yesterday, Justice Buba was forced to
adjourned the case after Dr Joseph Nwobike (SAN), leading seven other
lawyers on behalf of other counsel appearing for three other accused
persons, urged the court to adjourn the case to enable them study the
case file since they had just received the brief.
In the first
case Akpobolokemi was arraigned alongside Captain Ezekiel Bala Agaba,
Ekene Nwakuche, Felix Bob-Nabena, Captain Warredi Enisuoh, Governor
Amechee Juan, Ugo Fredrick, Timi Alari, Al-Kenzo Ltd and Penniel
Engineering Services Ltd.
In the second case, Akpobolokemi was
docked along with Captain Ezekiel Bala Agaba, Ekene Nwakuche, Governor
Ameche Juan, Blockz and Stonez Nigeria Ltd and Al-Kenzo Nigeria Ltd.
Both
judges granted them bail. Justice Seidu admitted Apolobokemi to bail in
the sum of N100 million with two sureties, one of the sureties, who
must be his relation, must be a landed property owner in either Ikoyi,
Victoria Island, or Lekki.
The accused former NIMASA boss must
also deposit his international passport with the court, while the other
accused persons were granted bail in the sum of N50million with two
sureties, one of the sureties must be a landed property owner in either
Ikoyi or Victoria island.
The case before Justice Saidu comes up on January 29, 2016.
By Kunle Olasanmi Abuja
No comments:
Post a Comment