Dasuki Didn’t Steal $2.2bn Arms Cas, Jonathan Insists

Dasuki Didn’t Steal $2.2bn Arms Cas, Jonathan Insists

Adeboye   23:04:00   No comments:

Former President Goodluck Jonathan has risen in defence of his ex-National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd), who is standing trial over alleged diversion of $2.2 billion arms cash.
In what appeared his first categorical statement on the arrest and subsequent trial of Dasuki and other personalities allegedly connected to the $2.2 billion cash, Jonathan said it was “impossible” for his former NSA to have stolen the said amount, considering his administration’s huge spending in the procurement of warships, fighter jets, and other military equipment and hardware, to prosecute the war against Boko Haram.

The former President broke his silence in faraway United Kingdom (UK), where he delivered a lecture on “Youth Entrepreneurship”, at the prestigious Oxford Union.
Hear him: “They said the National Security Adviser (Dasuki) stole $2.2billion. I don’t believe somebody can just steal $2.2 billion.

“We bought warships, we bought aircraft, we bought lots of weapons for the army and so on and so forth and you are still saying 2.2 billion, so where did we get the money to buy all those things?
“Yes, there were some issues. Yes, there are still corruption issues but some of it were over blown. I’d say exaggerated and they give a very bad impression about our nation. You cannot say the national security adviser stole $2.2billion. It is not just possible.”

While recognising the fact that further comments may be subjudice, since the case was before the court, the former President said it was important to allow the judicial process run its full course.

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Dasuki Is A Threat To National Security, FG Tells ECOWAS Court

Dasuki Is A Threat To National Security, FG Tells ECOWAS Court

Adeboye   20:14:00   No comments:

The Federal Government on Thursday told the Economic Community of West African States that it would be dangerous to release the immediate National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd.), from custody because he constituted a threat to national security.

Dasuki was re-arrested on December 29, 2015 by the operatives of the Department of State Service shortly after he was released on bail from ‎Kuje Prisons, Abuja, with respect to his ongoing trial on three separate sets of charges.

The Federal Government on Thursday called two witnesses ‎to oppose a fundamental human rights enforcement suit filed before the ECOWAS Court by Dasuki seeking his release from the custody of the DSS.

Through its ‎witnesses and its lawyer, Mr. T. D Kabiru, who led the witnesses in evidence, the Federal Government said on Thursday that Dasuki was being held because he constituted threat to national security.

It added that the ex-NSA was also being held owing to his involvement in the over $2bn arms funds scam.

It also said given his pivotal role in the $2bn scam and the calibre of top politicians that had been fingered in the alleged fraud, Dasuki was also being kept in custody for his own safety.

It said with the quantum of arms and ammunition alleged to be illegally kept in the ex-NSA’s home in Abuja and recovered by security operatives, there was the general apprehension that he possessed more, which the state had yet to discover.

It argued the Dasuki’s detention was justified based on the intelligence and security report in the disposal of the nation’s security agencies, and that national security superseded individual’s security.

‎ The lawyer said, “The position of the defence, which is not controverted by the applicant, is that the arms and ammunition recovered during the search (at Dasuki’s home) are not the only arms and ammunition in the possession of the applicant.

“There is fear that he has more.

“There is intelligence report that some are yet to be recovered. That we fear he has more is a ground to hold him. There are ongoing investigations which are revealing fresh facts concerning him.

“The right of an individual cannot supersede the security of a country when there is intelligence report to suspect the conduct of the individual.”

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Weapons Found In My House Belong To Onsa – Dasuki

Weapons Found In My House Belong To Onsa – Dasuki

Adeboye   07:26:00   No comments:

A former National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd) yesterday told the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja that weapons found in his house in 2015 belonged to the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).

This was just as Dasuki also told the ECOWAS court yesterday that his continual detention by the Federal Government since December 2015 is illegal. The position of Dasuki on the weapons was contained in a statement made before the Department of State Services (DSS) and tendered before the court.

Dasuki, who is standing trial over alleged illegal possession of weapon, said weapons were for the use of the security details attached to him as the NSA for protection purposes. A prosecution witness in the trial of Dasuki, Samuel Ogbu, who is an operative of DSS, read in the open court the statement made by Dasuki during his interrogation by DSS before he was charged to court.

However, under crossexamination by counsel to Dasuki, Ahmed Raji (SAN), the witness said that Dasuki, in his statement, confirmed that weapons were for the ONSA and for the protection of the NSA. The witness also said that Dasuki claimed in his written statement that the weapons were to be returned to the ONSA by the security details at the end of the day.

Ogbu had admitted that Dasuki, in the first paragraph of his statement, made it clear that the weapons belong to the ONSA and not his personal belonging. The witness further said he could not remember the date Dasuki left office as NSA, but however, insisted that the interrogation was conducted after he had left office.

Answering another question, the witness, who claimed to have spent 34 years in the service, admitted that the NSA is entitled to security details as the coordinator of activities for all security agencies in the country.

The operative claimed that the DSS did not issue the weapon to the former NSA, but admitted he would not know whether the weapons were issued to Dasuki by the military authority, especially the Nigerian Army. Earlier in his evidence in chief, the witness had claimed that the house of Dasuki was searched based on intelligence report and that some weapons, including powerful rifles, were recovered in his house.

He said that as a followup to the recovery, he was invited to participate in the interrogation of Dasuki to know the ownership of the weapons and for what purposes they were meant in the house. The witness claimed that the interrogation was freely conducted and fully recorded on video and that Dasuki’s statement was also recorded when it was being made voluntarily. The court later adjourned till today for further hearing.

In a related development, Dasuki again yesterday told the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice sitting in Abuja that the Federal Government has no legal or moral justification for his continued incarceration since December last year.

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New Militant Group Gives FG 7 Days To Release Kanu, Dasuki

New Militant Group Gives FG 7 Days To Release Kanu, Dasuki

Adeboye   20:02:00   No comments:

A new militant group, Red Egbesu Water Lions, has surfaced in the Niger Delta region.The new militant group in a statement by its Creek Network Coordinator, “General” Torunanawei Latei, said it was teaming up with the Niger Delta Avengers and Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB.

“It issued the Federal Government a seven-day ultimatum to release Nnamdi Kanu, former National Security Adviser, NSA, Sambo Dasuki and direct EFCC to defreeze the bank accounts of ex-militant leader, Government Ekpemupol, alias Tompolo.


Threatening to shut down all oil exploration activities in the Niger Delta at the expiration of the ultimatum, the group also demanded “unconditional immediate payment to victims of the Bonga Oil Spill and Chevron gas explosion in Koluama, Bayelsa state.”

“It is extremely important to note that the engine room of the national interest is the executive obedience to court orders, protection and preservation of citizens’ constitutional liberties. Justification of executive disobedience to court orders as a protection of national interest is abominable. “This is a deliberate ploy to bend the law and suspend the 1999 Constitution. We ask, does President Muhammadu Buhari have any legal capacity to declare anyone as a criminal? Disobedience to court orders is an act of executive rascality in the country,” the group added.
Vanguard

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Dasuki Paid Me Monthly, Says Okupe

Dasuki Paid Me Monthly, Says Okupe

Adeboye   20:33:00   No comments:

A former Senior Special Assistant on Public Affairs to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, Dr. Doyin Okupe, has revealed that his office was funded monthly by the embattled former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd.).

Okupe, who served under Jonathan from 2012 to 2015, said this on his official Twitter handle.

He, however, said he had nothing to do with the arms scam which cost the country over $15bn in stolen funds.

Okupe said, “I was not paid arms deal money. The NSA paid for the running of my office monthly from August 2012. Dasukigate was in 2014. I did not take part in the campaign.”

The former spokesman for Jonathan, however, received bashing from several of his followers online who wondered why his office should get security votes.

A Twitter use, Ojezs, asked, “You’re just implicating yourself. Is it the NSA office that employed you?”

Another user, Ayoola Ayodeji, wrote, “You probably mistake some of us for hungry people. A day will come when you won’t be able to sleep because poor people are outside your gate.”

In his response, Okupe wrote, “You guys are idiotic. You wait and pray for the innocent to be punished. It will not happen. You must think some of us are terrified.”

It had been reported in January that Okupe got at least N1.6bn off Dasuki in three shady cyber security contracts.

One of the contracts had instructions to hunt down unfriendly media websites with Distributed Denial of Service attacks.

It was believed to be a project conceived to shut down online media platforms perceived as friendly towards Muhammadu Buhari, the then presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress ahead of the 2015 election.

The other contract was to intercept all optic fibre cables landing in Nigeria. The third was a passive mass and target GSM interception that had the ability to decrypt ciphers and operate undetected.

The contracts that were allegedly awarded Okupe’s cronies, reinforces claims that the former NSA merely doled out cash and contracts to cronies and political associates and violated procurement regulations in the process.

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Arms Deal: Again, FG Fails To Produce Dasuki In Court

Arms Deal: Again, FG Fails To Produce Dasuki In Court

Adeboye   07:35:00   No comments:

Again, the Federal Government, yesterday, failed to produce former National Security Adviser (NSA), Colonel Sambo Dasuki (rtd) before an Abuja High Court where he is standing trial over alleged diversion of N6 billion meant for the purchase of arms.

The Department of State Services (DSS) has held Dasuki in custody since December 2015. When the matter came up yesterday, prosecuting counsel, Oluwaleke Atolagbe informed the trial judge, Justice Baba Yusuf, that he had made serious efforts through the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to contact the DSS to produce the first defendant (Dasuki) in court and regretted that as at the time the court was sitting, his efforts did not yield fruitful result.

The counsel informed the court that there was no indication that the former NSA would be brought to court for the trial, even though the witnesses are in court and that also Rotimi Jacobs (SAN) who was supposed to be the lead prosecution counsel was at the Court of Appeal for a different matter.

Atolagbe appealed that the matter be stood down pending the arrival of Jacobs in court to come and shed more light on the absence of Dasuki. However, counsel to one of the defendants, Salisu Shuaib, a former Director of Finance in the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), Akin Olujimi (SAN) said that the coming into court of Jacobs would be inconsequential in the absence of the first defendant (Dasuki). Olujimi told the court that the prosecution had failed to produce the defendant in court and ought to admit that and asked for adjournment.

He argued that it is settled in law that trial cannot go ahead in the absence of the defendant and prayed the court to grant adjournment to the prosecution to enable them take steps to produce Dasuki in court on the adjourned date. Olujimi also asked the court to issue a stern warning to the prosecution to be serious in the trial and to ensure that Dasuki is produced in court at all stages of the trial as demanded by law.

In his own submission, counsel to Aminu Baba- Kusa, a former Executive Director at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Solomon Umor (SAN) submitted that “ordinarily, the prosecution ought to apply for a bench warrant against Dasuki for failure to appear in court for trial, but noted that in the instant case, the prosecution would not do so because they are the one responsible for the absence of Dasuki because of his unwarranted detention.

In his ruling, Justice Yusuf said that that it was the responsibility of the prosecution to produce the defendant in court as required by law, but regretted that the prosecution has unfortunately abdicated this responsibility today as far as this case is concerned. The court, however, held that the conduct of the prosecution had been good in the past and consequently adjourned till May 23.

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A’Court Rejects Motions To Stop Saraki, Dasuki, Metuh’s Trials

A’Court Rejects Motions To Stop Saraki, Dasuki, Metuh’s Trials

Adeboye   05:05:00   No comments:

The Court of Appeal in Abuja said on Monday that it would no longer hear applications for a stay of proceedings in the trials of the Senate President, Bukola Saraki; a former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd.); and the National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, Chief Olisa Metuh.

Justice Abdul Aboki, who presided over the three-man panel of the appeal court when Metuh’s appeal was mentioned on Monday, gave a clear warning against the filing of notice of a stay of proceedings.

“We have decided that we will not hear motion for a stay of proceedings. You should go back to the court to argue your application before the court and pursue your appeal before us,” Justice Aboki said.

He did not say whether the court’s position was only limited to only criminal cases or it would also affect civil appeals.

In response, Metuh’s lawyer, Mr. Onyechi Ikpeazu (SAN), said he thought he would be allowed to convince the court on the merit of the motion for a stay of proceedings which he filed on behalf of his client.

Justice Aboki said, “We are not going to allow that, even if you file it, we are going to dismiss it straightaway.”

Metuh and his company, Destra Investments Limited, had filed separate notices of appeal against the ruling of Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court in Abuja, dismissing their application for a no-case submission.

The PDP’s spokesperson is being prosecuted along with his company before Justice Abang by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on seven counts, including money laundering involving $2m cash transaction.

Other counts bordered on alleged fraud involving N400m, which he allegedly received in November 2014 from the Office of the NSA, then under the leadership of Dasuki.

The Court of Appeal on Monday directed the prosecuting counsel, Mr. Tahir Sylvanus, to file new separate notices of appeal, instead of the only one which he had filed, against the two notices of appeal filed for Metuh and Destra Investments Limited.

Metuh’s appeal was adjourned till May 5 for hearing.

On his part, Saraki filed an appeal before the court to challenge the March 24, 2016 ruling of the Code of Conduct Tribunal in Abuja, where he is being prosecuted on 13 counts of false asset declaration.

Earlier on Monday, Saraki’s lawyer, Chief Kanu Agabi (SAN), who appeared before the three-man panel of the appeal court, voluntarily withdrew the application for a stay of proceedings, which he filed accompanying his client’s notice of appeal.

But Dasuki’s lawyer, Mr. Joseph Daudu (SAN), who also appeared before the same appeal court’s panel on Monday with respect to his client’s appeal, said he would take the decision on whether or not to withdraw his motions for a stay of proceedings after receiving EFCC’s respondent’s brief.

“If I see the respondent’s brief, I will be able to make the decision,” Daudu said.

Dasuki filed the notices of appeal with respect to two separate appeals, challenging the rulings of Justices Baba Yusuf and Peter Affen of the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Maitama, dismissing the ex-NSA’s applications seeking the orders stopping his trial.

Justices Yusuf and Affen had, on February 8 and March 4 respectively, dismissed the separate applications by Dasuki, asking for orders prohibiting the EFCC from prosecuting him on two sets of charges of diversion of funds meant for procurement of arms.

Justice Adeniyi Ademola of a Federal High Court in Abuja also on April 19 dismissed a similar application which like the two others, was anchored on the ex-NSA’s continued detention in the custody of the Department of State Services since December 29, 2015.

The appeal court said on Monday that dates for hearing the appeals by Saraki and Dasuki would be communicated to the parties through their lawyers.

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I Have Nothing To Do With Dasuki, Fani-Kayode – Falae

I Have Nothing To Do With Dasuki, Fani-Kayode – Falae

Adeboye   13:32:00   No comments:

Former National Chairman of the Social Democratic Party, Chief Olu Falae said he has nothing to do with the former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd.) and Jonathan campaign Director, Femi Fani-Kayode.

He was reacting to speculations that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission was set to invite him and others for questioning over allegations that they illegally received government funds through the last presidential campaign.

Chief Falae said he had never been invited by the EFCC or any anti-graft commission, adding that his company too had never been touched by the anti-graft commission.

He said, “I have said it in several interviews that both myself and my party have nothing whatsoever to do with Dasuki or Jonathan campaign Director or anybody that it was Tony Anenih as Chairman Board of Trustee of the PDP who approached SDP, my party, through me that we should support their candidate. I also said that we gave them some conditions which he accepted.”

If eventually invited, the former Minister for Finance said he would honor the invitation as he said he had no skeleton in his cupboard.

“I will honour the invitation if I am invited, but I have not invited by anybody because they know I have nothing to explain, I have explained everything. I know I didn’t do anything that is illegal, they just want to use that to embarrass me.”

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Court Dismisses Dasuki’s Third Application To Stop Trial

Court Dismisses Dasuki’s Third Application To Stop Trial

Adeboye   08:19:00   No comments:

A Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday dismissed an application by the immediate past National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd), seeking an order discharging him of charges preferred against him and another order prohibiting the Federal Government from further prosecuting him.

Justice Adeniyi Ademola, in a ruling, held that the application lacked merit as same contained prayers that were not granted by any court.


The Tuesday’s ruling is the third after two previous rulings of two other judges of the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Maitama, dismissing similar applications which was filed by Dasuki in respect of two sets of separate charges preferred against him before the judges.

However, Justice Ademola in a separate ruling on Tuesday, dismissed a separate application by the Federal Government seeking protection of its 11 listed witnesses ‎whom it said were afraid of appearing to testify in the case for fear of reprisal.

He held that the prosecution failed to establish the grounds for granting such application asking for permission to shield the identities of their witnesses during trial.

The Federal Government is prosecuting Dasuki before the court on four counts of money laundering and illegal possession of firearms.

Dasuki however filed the application dated February 11, 2016, asking the court to prohibit the Federal Government from prosecuting him and discharge him of the alleged crimes on the basis that the Federal Government had disobeyed the orders granting him bail and permitting him to embark on a medical trip abroad.

He claimed that his continued detention in the custody of the Department of State Service since December 29, 2015,‎ amounted to the Federal Government being in contempt of the court order of the court granting him bail on September 1, 2015 and another granting him permission on November 3, 2015 to travel abroad for medical treatment.

The judge in dismissing the application held that the defence lawyers, Messrs Joseph Daudu and Ahmed Raji, both Senior Advocates of Nigeria, had failed to ‎follow the laid down procedure through which the court would be able to make findings on whether the prosecution was in contempt of the court orders.

The judge, who described Dasuki’s application as strange, also held that no court in Nigeria could either compe‎l the Federal Government to prosecute a suspect or prohibit it from prosecuting an accused person.

He also held that it was too early in the day to make an order discharging the accused when his trial had yet to commence.

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Unlawful Detention: Dasuki Floors FG At ECOWAS Court

Unlawful Detention: Dasuki Floors FG At ECOWAS Court

Adeboye   18:01:00   No comments:

The former National Security Adviser (NSA) Col Muhammed Sambo Dasuki (rtd) triumphed at the Economic Community for West African States (ECOWAS) Court in the first leg of his court action challenging his alleged unlawful arrest and detention without trial since December last year by the Federal Government.

Against the objection of government, the international court in Abuja Monday ruled that it has jurisdiction to entertain the suit brought before it by Dasuki for the enforcement of his fundamental rights to liberty and to own property as enshrined in the provisions of the Nigerian 1999 constitution and African Charter on fundamental rights of persons.

In the ruling delivered by Justice Friday Chijoke Nwoke, the ECOWAS Court dismissed out-rightly the objection of the government against Dusuki’s suit on the ground that the objection was misconceived, frivolous and lacked merit.

Justice Nwoke in the unanimous ruling of the three-member panel of the court held that the claim of government that Dasuki’s case emanated from his trial on certain offences was inappropriate and being the basis for his objection to the applicants case in this matter cannot hold water since the relieves sought by Dasuki have nothing to do with the ongoing trial at the domestic courts of Nigeria.

The Justices in their opinion held that the claim of government that Dasuki ought to have filed contempt charge against the Nigerian government for disobeying court orders that admitted him to bail but flouted by the defendant cannot be sustained because the case of applicant is not ambiguous, in that it has no root from any criminal trial in any court.

Justice Nwoke said that at any rate the case of Nigerian government cannot stand in the face of the law because there is no evidence that Dasuki has filed similar pending matter in any international court and that even if he has similar matter in any Nigerian court up to the Supreme Court, such domestic courts cannot have the status of an international court as envisaged in the treaty in which Nigeria is a signatory.

“In our opinion, what Dasuki brought before us as a case is an issue for the enforcement of his fundamental rights to liberty and own property and against unlawful arrest, unlawful detention and unlawful seizure of properties without any court order or warrant of arrest.

“From the totality of the issues brought before this court, it is clear and there is no ambiguity that the applicant is seeking enforcement of his right to freedom and not on the issue of his trail for any alleged offence before any Nigerian court”.

Justice Nwoke further said: “Therefore, the objection of the government and the request that the case of the applicant in this matter be struck out on the ground of emanating from any criminal matter has no basis, the claims and the request lack merit and hereby dismissed and we declare that the application of Dasuki is admissible to this court”.

The ECOWAS Court said that it was not out to decide the issue of whether the applicant is guilty of the charges against him in the Nigerian courts or not but simply to ascertain whether his fundamental rights to liberty having been granted bail in criminal matters and rearrested since last year and kept in an unknown place constitute an abuse of his rights to freedom.

Dasuki through his lawyer, Mr Robert Emukpoeruo and Wale Balogun had dragged the FG before the ECOWAS Court to complain that the invasion of his houses in Abuja, Kaduna and Sokoto without any court order or warrant of arrest and even seizure of his properties comprising vehicles, money and documents constituted the abuse of his rights to liberty as enshrined in section 36 and 34 of the 1999 Constitution and other international laws where Nigeria is a signatory.

Besides, he complained that the invasion of his house by operatives of government without lawful court order traumatised his 94-year-old father who was shocked and up till now has not recovered from the sickness that followed.

Dasuki therefore asked the ECOWAS Court to award N500million compensatory damages in his favour having been denied access to medical attention abroad as ordered by a Nigerian court since November last year.

The government through its lawyer, Mr Tijani Gazali had objected to Dasuki’s case on the ground that ECOWAS Court has no jurisdiction to dabble into the trial of any Nigerian in the Nigerian court and ask the ECOWAS Court to strike out Dasuki’s case because it constituted an abuse to the Nigerian courts.

Meanwhile, definite hearing in the matter has been fixed for May 17 and 18, 2016.

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ECOWAS Court To Rule On Dasuki Case April 11

ECOWAS Court To Rule On Dasuki Case April 11

Adeboye   06:00:00   No comments:

The Community Court of Justice, ECOWAS, says it will on April 11 rule on whether it has the jurisdiction to entertain a case brought before it by the former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki.

This is contained in a statement issued by the court in Abuja on Thursday.

The case filed with the suit number ECW/CCJ/APP/01/16 was brought before the Court on Nov. 5, 2015, against the Federal Government.

According to the statement, the court’s decision to rule on the case followed a preliminary objection by the counsel to the defendant, Mr T. A. Gadzali.

In the objection raised, Gadzali urged the court not to hear the substantive suit filed by the applicant as the subject of the suit was based on contempt of the order of Nigerian courts.

He added that the only remedy was for the plaintiff to return to the country’s court to commit the government for contempt.

The counsel to the defendant also argued that a similar case was already pending before a Nigerian court and could not therefore be entertained by the ECOWAS Court.

In response, counsel to the plaintiff, Mr Robert Emukpoeruo, stated that a suit could not only be filed before the ECOWAS Court if it were pending before an international court.

Emukpoeruo added that the suit was not founded on contempt but on the defendant’s abuse of the applicant’s human rights.

The applicant, in the suit filed, asked for N500 million as “compensatory damages” against the government of Nigeria.

“This is over his continued detention without charge, invasion of his residence and seizure of his property despite being granted bail by courts of competent jurisdiction.”

The plaintiff, in the suit, also sought a declaration that his continued detention, refusal to allow him travel for medical treatment and seizure of his properties constitute a violation of his human rights.

“This is as guaranteed under the country’s constitution’ and various international instruments to which the country is signatory,” it stated.

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Why Dasuki Will Not Be Released, By Buhari

Why Dasuki Will Not Be Released, By Buhari

Adeboye   08:37:00   No comments:

President Muhammadu Buhari has said that the Federal Government was not prepared to release former National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki, from detention.

The president said that Dasuki, who is presently in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS), has multiple cases in court, which he must diligently face and answer.

Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, in an interview with New Telegraph yesterday in Abuja, explained that the cases against the former NSA were all complicated. Reacting to criticisms that Buhari does not respect court orders and continues to detain Dasuki, the presidential spokesman said that “the ex-NSA’s problem is not with President Buhari who I must say has the highest regard for the rule of law.”

Garba noted that the president remained the best friend of the rule of law and due process the country has seen so far. “If five courts of the land are trying different cases in which a man is involved and one or two of those courts let the accused persons go home on bail, what happens with the other three cases? “If you are a prisons controller, will you set that person free when you have three other judges directing that he be kept in detention?

“Colonel Dasuki faces a multiplicity of cases and, sadly for him, his hand appears to be showing in more of the cases as recent revelations from the ongoing investigation in the Office of the NSA has shown,” he added. Garba, who also spoke on the agitation by Biafra, said the matter was a rested case.

He said as far as he was concerned, Nigerians paid the supreme prize of going to a three years’ civil war, which claimed the lives of over one million people. Garba noted that those calling for a State of Biafra have no grasp about the political history of the country. He said the issue of Biafra was settled at the end of that civil war. “Remember that this country fought a civil war for 30 months in which one million people were killed.

The issue of Biafra was settled at the end of that civil war. What is there again? “It is people who haven’t read Nigerian history and don’t know about it that are trying to raise new dust,” he said.

Buhari was recently quoted for supporting the liberation of the Saharawi people in Morocco, a statement which most Nigerians criticize as against the agitation of the Biafra group.

According to Garba, “for anybody to make comparison between Western Sahara and Biafra, that is a display of knowledge deficit in international politics. One, Western Sahara is a classic case of decolonisation.” He said: “It is the last remaining colony on the African continent and we all owe it a duty to ourselves to liberate Western Sahara.

“In fact, as military Head of State, President Buhari was the first to recognise Western Sahara and then the rest of Africa followed. So, he is being consistent. But Biafra is for the dismemberment of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, which is already a settled entity. These two scenarios are clearly different,” he stressed.

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