Segun Akanni, Toronto, Canada The Federal Government on Thursday re-arraigned the immediate past National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd), on amended charges of money laundering, theft of firearms and illegal possession of firearms.
He pleaded not guilty to all the seven counts when read to him before Justice Ahmed Mohammed on Thursday.
The case, originally filed in 2015, was being heard by Justice Adeniyi Ademola until October 2016 when the judge was accused of corruption and subsequently put on trial by the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation.
Justice Ademola was acquitted on Wednesday.
Following Justice Ademola’s trial, the case in which the prosecution had started calling the witnesses was transferred to Justice Mohammed, who had to start hearing it de novo (afresh).
After Dasuki pleaded not guilty to the seven counts on Thursday, both the prosecuting counsel, Mr. Dipo Okpeseyi (SAN), and the defence counsel, Mr. Ahmed Raji (SAN), agreed that the bail earlier granted to the ex-NSA by Justice Ademola in the same terms and condition should stand.
Justice Mohammed adopted the bail in the same terms and conditions, even though the ex-NSA had remained in the custody of the Department of State Service since December 2015 and was only produced in court for his trials.
In addition to the five counts contained in the transferred case, the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation, in the amended charges, added two more counts bordering on stealing and being in illegal possession of firearms.
The firearms mentioned in the two counts are: five Tavor X95 assault rifles with numbers 45801168, 45801169, 45801175, 45801176 and 4801199.
The items, among other arms, ammunition and cash sums were allegedly recovered from Dasuki’s houses in Sokoto and Abuja during search operations by operatives of the Department of State Service on July 16 and 17, 2015 respectively.
Justice Mohammed on Thursday adjourned until April 11 for the hearing of the prosecution’s application for witness protection.
Meanwhile, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s two criminal cases against Dasuki are to come up before Justice Hussein Baba-Yusuf of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Maitama, Abuja on April 10.
