Arms Deal: Dasuki's Lawyer Fails to Appear in Court for His Trial

The counsel representing embattled former National Security Adviser, Dasuki Sambo, failed to appear in court yesterday, thereby stalling proceedings. 

The absence of the lawyer to the former National Security Advsiser (NSA), Sambo Dasuki (rtd), Mr Ahmed Raji (SAN), on Thursday, January 21, stalled further hearing in a suit filed by the EFCC before Justice Husseini Baba Ahmed of an Abuja High Court.

 

Raji had written a letter, informing the court that he would not be available for the proceedings as he was before an election petitions tribunal sitting in Kogi State. He urged the court to adjourn the case till today to enable him defend his client.

 

However, the lawyer to the EFCC, Mr. Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), expressed reservations on the grounds that the defence has a team of lawyers who could handle the case.

 

The judge had ealier ordered the federal government to produce Dasuki in court to answer the criminal charge against him.

 

The judge, who slammed  federal government for failure to bring Dasuki to court, stood down the trial for about two hours and insisted that the trial would not proceed until Dasuki was brought before him as required by the law.

 

Security operatives, who were said to have taken Dasuki to unknown custody in the past couple of weeks, ran helter and skelter to fish him out when the reality dawned on them that the judge would not shift position.

 

Dasuki, whose case was adjourned till today (Friday 22) , was however brought to the court about 11am in compliance with the court order under a tight security.

 

Justice Adeniyi Ademola of the federal high court in Abuja had on Wednesday ordered the federal government to produce Dasuki before him on February 16 to answer another sets of criminal charges.

 

Justice Ademola maintained that it was wrong of the government to have expected the court to conduct a criminal trial in the absence of the defendant and in violation of the law.