ECOWAS Court says it has jurisdiction to hear Dasuki’s suit

The Community Court of the Economic Community of West African States has ruled that it has the jurisdiction to hear a suit filed by former National Security Adviser (NSA), Mohammed Sambo Dasuki, to challenge his alleged unlawful detention.

Dasuki was arrested by the operatives of the Department of Department of State Service on December 29, 2015, shortly after he was released on bail at the Kuje prison with respect to the various sets of charges pending against him.

The ex-‎NSA has since then remained in the custody of the DSS.

‎In a ruling by  a three-man bench on Monday, the ECOWAS Court dismissed Federal Government’s objection to the hearing of Dasuki’s suit.

Justice FChijoke Nwoke, who presided and read the court’s ruling, held that the Nigeria’s Federal Government, represented by Tijani Ganzali, misunderstood the kernel of Dasuki’s case by arguing that it bordered on contempt of the orders previously made by the Nigerian courts.

The judge held that  Dasuki’s case was mainly challenging the alleged breach of his fundamental human rights by agents of the Nigerian government.

He ruled, “In determining jurisdiction, the court is to look at the facts as stated by the plaintiff and the prayers he sought, not the defendant’s.

“A careful analyses of the facts by the applicant is that he was unlawfully detained without committing any offence, and that his continued detention was as a result of the defendant’s President’s statement that he will not be released.”

‎The judge also ruled that the Nigerian government’s argument that similar case was pending in local courts was baseless as the cases referred to were criminal and not related to rights abuse.

He added that from the facts available to the court  no similar case was pending before any other court, which ordinarily, would have denied his court the necessary jurisdiction.

He said “It is beyond contention that the issues raised in this matter border on human right violation. The defendant’s (Federal Republic of Nigeria) argument that a similar case is pending in Nigerian court is unfounded.

“The pendency of any similar case in Nigeria does not amount to an international court. An individual can maintain a fundamental rights enforcement case before this court even if he has not exhausted local remedies.

“The case before this court is not similar to the criminal ones before the local courts. This application (suit by Dasuki) is declared admissible.

“This court dismisses the objection of the Federal Government of Nigeria. Cost is to abide the final determination of the case.”

He adjourned to May 17 and 18 for definite hearing of the substantive case.

Dasuki is, by the fundamental rights enforcement suit, is challenging his continued detention by the DSS.

He contended among others that his detention amounted to a violation of his fundamental rights on the grounds that he had been granted bail by Nigerian courts, that there was no subsisting order for his detention.

ECOWAS Court says it has jurisdiction to hear Dasuki’s suit

SSS, EFCC fail to produce ex-NSA Dasuki in court

The failure of the Department of the State Security Service (SSS) to produce former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, before an Abuja High Court Wednesday, has again stalled Mr. Dasuki’s trial for alleged corruption.

Former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki

At the resumed hearing, Rotimi Jacob, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s counsel, told Justice Baba Yusuf that Mr. Dasuki refused to be in court on the grounds that his lawyers, Joseph Daudu and Ahmed Raji, would not be in court.

The prosecutor told the court that he persuaded the defendant to come to court to see how the proceedings would be conducted, but that Mr. Dasuki refused.

He therefore asked the court to begin the trial in the absence of the defendant.

Mr. Jacob also told the court that an operative of the SSS told him that the counsels to the defendant had never made any attempt to go to the SSS Office to see their client, who has been in their custody since December 2015.

Mr. Jacob said the refusal of the defendant to be in court was a ploy to scuttle the trial.

However, Wale Balogun, Mr. Dasuki’s lawyer urged Justice Baba Yusuf to disregard the claim of the prosecution, saying as of Wednesday, Mr. Dasuki was still denied access to his lawyers.

Mr. Balogun said Mr. Jacob’s claim that an operative of SSS told him (Jacob) that Mr. Dasuki’s lawyers never made attempts to see him in the custody was “baseless and unwarranted” because he was quoting a third-party.

Mr. Dasuki’s lawyer said on the contrary it was the SSS and the prosecution that scuttled the trial by their deliberate refusal to produce the defendant who has been in their custody since last year in court.

The counsel said as the prosecutor, Mr. Jacob could not give evidence from the bar on why the defendant was not brought to court. He said what he ought to have done was to have filed an affidavit evidence to explain to the court why the defendant was not in court.

Mr. Balogun insisted that the accused could not be tried in his absence and without access to his lawyers to prepare effective defence. He added that the prosecution would continue to bungle the trial until they resolved to obey the rule of law and take necessary steps required by law.

The position of Dasuki’s lawyer was adopted by lawyers standing for other defendants in the criminal charges brought against Mr. Dasuki.

Justice Baba Yusuf, in his comment, agreed that the trial should have commenced, but said that could not happen in the absence of the defendant and without the permission of the court.

The judge said he would have agreed with the prosecution that lawyers to Mr. Dasuki had not made any effort to access their clients in the custody, but said it was clear the information was hearsay obtained from unnamed SSS Operatives.

The judge, therefore agreed with the defence counsel on the need to adjourn the case. He adjourned the case to April 6 for the prosecution to produce the defendant in court.

SSS, EFCC fail to produce ex-NSA Dasuki in court

Dasukigate a child"s play compared to Wikegate - RIVERS APC

•Urges urgent probe of Wike’s looting spree from his days as a minister till date

The much publicised $2.1 billion arms fraud popularly known as Dasukigate is a child’s play when compared with the looting spree at the Federal Ministry of Education under the watch of Chief Nyesome Wike, the Rivers State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has said. The party made the submission while reacting to the recent revelation by the Peoples Coalition Against Corruption concerning the alarming fraudulent deals of Chief Wike, the incumbent Governor of Rivers State, right from his days as Minister of State for Education and later as the Supervising Minister of Education.

Nyesom Wike

The group had alleged massive theft and diversion of resources from TETFUND, the swindling of over N100 billion Universal Basic Education Fund, as well as the conversion and diversion of over N20 billion of the Ministry of Education budgets in four years under Wike’s watch. In addition, according to the group, “Between 2012 to and May 29th 2015, Nyesome Wike using his position as Minister of State for Education caused to be awarded to himself through his companies and cronies several contracts which he did not execute but for which he received full payment. For instance, on the 28th day of June 2012, the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) under the hand of Engr. E. Eshett awarded the CONTRACT FOR CONSTRUCTION OF RUMUEPIRIKOM INTERNAL ROADS (PHASE 1 & 2), OBIO/AKPO to CICO INDUSTRIES LTD for the sum of #2,673,121,782.24 (Two Billion, Six Hundred and Seventy-Three Million, One Hundred and Twenty-One Thousand, Seven Hundred and Eighty-Two Naira and Twenty-Four Kobo). Beside the fact that CICO INDUSTRIES LTD is not a Civil Engineering company they were awarded with the contract for the construction of Rumueprikom Internal Roads and have been fully paid by NDDC, using his crony Hon. Henry Ogiri.  CICO INDUSTRIES LIMITED did not execute that job. Instead, in 2015, upon emergence as the Governor of Rivers State, Barr. Nyesome Wike, knowing that the same road had been awarded to him through MESSER CICO INDUSTRIES LTD for which he had been paid did without any form of compliance with the Rivers State Procurement Law and in other (sic) to cover his criminal act and intention, surreptitiously awarded the same RUMUEPRIKOM INTERNAL ROADS to RENNIER CONSTRUCTION COMPANY (RCC) for even a high amount than the pricing of the NDDC.”

Rivers APC in a statement signed by its Chairman, Dr. Davies Ibiamu Ikanya, and issued Wednesday in Port Harcourt, described the revelations by the Peoples Coalition Against Corruption as a tip of the iceberg. “Based on what we know of Chief Wike’s activities in government in the past few years, we make bold to say that these revelations by the Peoples Coalition Against Corruption represent a small fraction of Wike’s corrupt acts. As a matter of fact, Wikegate, if we may call it that will make Dasukigate look like a child’s play when the full details are made known,” Rivers APC said.

The party appealed to the Presidency and relevant Federal Government agencies to launch without delay, a full-scale investigation into Wike’s fraudulent activities as a minster and now as a governor with a view to recovery public funds lost in the process. Rivers APC also called for the immediate arrest and prosecution of the staff of NDDC that aided Wike in his looting spree, Rivers State Government, CICO, RCC, as well as the bank officials that colluded to swindle Rivers State and Nigeria.

“As we commend and congratulate President Muhammadu Buhari for his drive to eradicate or reduce corruption to the barest level possible in our nation’s polity, we wish to encourage him not to relent no matter the odds and the efforts of corrupt Nigerians to fight it back. We totally agree with him that if we don’t kill corruption, corruption will kill us as a nation,” the party stated.

Dasukigate a child"s play compared to Wikegate - RIVERS APC