SAMBO Dasuki, former National Security Adviser (NSA), was the first ‘scapegoat’ of the President Muhamadu Buhari’s anti-corruption campaign, having been arrested by the Department of State Services (DSS) in July 2015 – barely two months after the All Progressives Congress (APC) took over power – for allegedly embezzling the sum of $2.1 billion meant for the purchase of arms for the Armed Forces of Nigeria.
Since his arrest and arraignment before the Federal High Court, Abuja, Dasuki has been granted bail six times by various courts, but the DSS had consistently refused to release him.
On November 3, 2015, Justice Adeniyi Ademola – now retired – granted Dasuki’s application requesting to be allowed to travel abroad for cancer treatment. But instead of obeying the court order, the DSS mounted a siege around Dasuki’s residence, effectively placing him under house arrest. He was taken into custody again on December 1.
The DSS explained at the time that Dasuki was under investigation for a separate offence.
Again, Justice Peter Affen of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court granted Dasuki bail after he was arraigned before the court on the same charges of corruption. Justice Peter ordered the former NSA and his three co-accused persons to pay the of N250 million each and provide two sureties in like sum.
However, after fulfilling the bail conditions, Dasuki was denied bail, and was detained at the Kuje Prison. His lawyer, Ahmed Raji (SAN) described the DSS’ action as “an affront to the rule of law under democracy”.
Dasuki would later take his case to the ECOWAS court, and on October 4, 2016, the court ruled that his continued detention despite a valid court order granting him bail, was unlawful and an affront to his fundamental human rights.
The court also ruled that the Federal Government should pay Dasuki the sum of N15 million as damages, adding that the cost of litigation should also be charged against the Nigerian government.
However, despite the court judgement and the intervention of human rights activists, such as Femi Falana, the federal government refused to honour the ECOWAS court judgement.
On January 24, 2017, Justice Baba Yusuf, of the Federal High Court, Abuja, reaffirmed Dasuki’s bail, stressing that he was entitled to it and having been admitted to same since 2015 when the federal government brought criminal charges against him.
Similarly, in April 2017, Justice Ahmed Mohammed of the Federal High Court, Abuja, affirmed the bail granted Dasuki in 2015. This was after Dasuki was re-arraigned on an amended seven-count charges, but, again, the DSS would not budge.
Another court order was issued on Monday, yet again granting bail to Sambo Dasuki, but this time, at the sum of N200 million, with two sureties who are expected to deposit N100 million each. The sureties must be civil servants of not lower than grade level 16, or, where the sureties are not civil servants, must be owners of a landed property in any highbrow area of Abuja.
These are tougher conditions than the N250 million bail granted Dasuki in 2015, but his lawyer told journalists on Monday that they would try everything humanly possible to meet the conditions. It is left to be seen whether the DSS will release him this time, or whether they will continue to call the bluff of the court.