The Federal Government may again file fresh money laundering charges against the immediate past National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd.).
Dasuki is currently standing trial before Justice Adeniyi Ademola of the Federal High Court in Abuja on five counts of illegal possession of firearms and money laundering involving N84.6m
The Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federal Ministry of Justice, Mr. Muhammad Diri, on Monday, gave the indication of filing additional money laundering charges against Dasuki, while opposing an application by Dasuki for the release of his passport to enable him to travel to the United Kingdom on health grounds.
“The defendant is also being investigated in respect of other offences of money laundering by the security department. On this point, I refer your Lordship to paragraph four of our counter-affidavit showing that the defendant is also being investigated for other money laundering offences,” Diri said, while opposing the application.
But the defence lawyer, Mr. Joseph Daudu (SAN), while moving the application earlier, argued that such “speculative possibility that more charges will be filed against the defendant” could not be the basis for denying his client the opportunity to seek medical attention abroad.
“They (the prosecution) are saying that his traveling out may interfere with the proposed charges,” Daudu said.
The lawyer, who anchored the application, dated October 23, 2015, on the provisions of section 36(5) and 36(6) of the 1999 Constitution and section 173(2) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015, urged Justice Ademola to consider the decision of the Court of Appeal on a similar application by a former governor of Delta State, James Ibori, and grant his client’s application.
He said the application was necessary to keep up with an earlier appointment which his client had with the UK hospital and in view of the defendant’s “deteriorating health conditions.”
He also argued that availability of the treatment, which Dasuki was seeking abroad, in Nigeria could not be a basis for rejecting his application.
“That is not the grounds, with greatest respect, for the court to refuse the application,” Daudu said, adding that the prosecution’s view about seizure of the defendant’s passport as being punitive was erroneous.
He urged the court to grant his client’s application on the basis that the defendant was presumed innocent and was still entitled to the right of free movement.
In response, Diri said Dasuki’s application was novel and distinguished it from the case of Ibori cited by Daudu.
He said in Ibori’s case there were other bail conditions granted the accused person unlike in Dasuki’s case where the seizure of the passport was the only bail condition.
He also argued that allowing the defendant to travel abroad for three weeks, as he requested, would delay the trial and that the ailment which the defendant sought to treat abroad could be handled at the National Hospital, Abuja.
Justice Ademola fixed Tuesday for ruling on the application. Meanwhile, the court’s ruling on the application by the prosecution to mask its witnesses during trial is still being awaited.
The Federal Government on September 1 earlier granted bail to Dasuki after the Federal Government arraigned him on one count of alleged illegal possession of firearms allegedly recovered from his Sokoto and Abuja homes.
The prosecution subsequently amended the charge and re-arraigned him on five counts of illegal possession of firearms and money laundering on October 26.
0 comments :
Post a Comment