Court Defers Dasuki’s Trial Till January 25, 2017

Court Defers Dasuki’s Trial Till January 25, 2017

The trial of former National Security Adviser (NSA), Colonel Sambo Dasuki (rtd), has been deferred till January 25, 2017 by an Abuja High Court.

The former NSA was accused by the Federal Government of misappropriating the sum of $2.1 billion meant for the purchase of arms.

The deferment followed the absence of one of the defendants in the trial who is a former Director of Finance and Account (DFA) in the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), Mr. Salisu Shuaibu, who was said to have taken ill and hospitalised.

The prosecution counsel, Mr. Oluwaleke Atolagbe, who informed the court about the defendant’s health status, told Justice Baba Yusuf that he had been served with the medical report of the defendant which confirmed that he had been hospitalised.

He noted further that the trial could not proceed in the absence of the defendant and therefore applied for a short adjournment pending  Shuaibu’s recovery.

In his ruling, Justice Yusuf stated that since the charge was filed, the second defendant had never been absent in court and as such, the court was obliged to grant the request for the adjournment.

After consultations by the lawyers in the case, they proposed the trial be deferred till January 25, 2017 which was consequently endorsed by the judge.