Photo: Former National Security Adviser, Col Sambo Dasuki (retd)
By Sadeeq Kamsela
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Tuesday re-arraigned former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd), along with three others, at the Abuja High Court over an alleged N33.2 billion fraud.
Dasuki was re-arraigned alongside Aminu Baba-Kusa, a former General Manager of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), as well as two companies—Acacia Holdings Limited and Reliance Referral Hospital Limited.
The fresh arraignment took place before Justice Charles Agbaza after the case was reassigned by the FCT Chief Judge, Justice Hussein Baba-Yusuf, who had previously presided over the matter.
Dasuki was first arraigned on December 14, 2015, alongside Shuaibu Salisu, the former Director of Finance and Administration at the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), on a 19-count charge linked to an alleged N15.5 billion fraud.
However, the prosecution later amended the charges, removing Salisu’s name.
On May 11, 2018, Dasuki and his co-defendants were re-arraigned on an amended 32-count charge, which included allegations of criminal breach of trust, dishonest release of funds, and receipt of various sums of money totaling N33.2 billion.
The prosecution had presented one witness—the investigating officer in the alleged arms scandal—but had not concluded his evidence-in-chief before the case was adjourned sine die.
The EFCC initially filed two separate cases against Col. Dasuki in 2015. Justice Baba-Yusuf, now the Chief Judge of the FCT, handled both cases.
In the second case, marked FCT/HC/CR/42/2015, Dasuki was named as the second defendant alongside Ambassador Bashir Yuguda, a former Minister of State for Finance. Also charged were Attahiru Bafarawa, a former Sokoto State governor, his son Sagir, and their company, Dalhatu Investment Limited.
The defendants in this case face a 25-count charge of criminal breach of trust and misappropriation of public funds amounting to N19.4 billion.
