Justice Husseini Baba Ahmed of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) high court on Thursday compelled the federal government to produce the embattled former National Security Adviser (NSA) Colonel Sambo Dasuki in court to answer criminal charges brought against him.
The judge who took swipe at the federal government for failure to bring Dasuki to court stood down the trial for two hours and insisted that the trial will not be conducted until Dasuki had been brought before him as required by law.
Security operatives who had taken the defendant to unknown custody in the past six weeks ran helter and skelter to fish him out when the reality dawned on them that the Judge will not shift position.
Dasuki was however brought to the court around 11:00am in compliance with the court order under a tight security.
A Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Adeniyi Ademola 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.
Three different courts where Dasuki was arraigned for criminal charges had granted him bail but the bail orders were not obeyed by government which instead took the defendant to an unknown custody.
However, the trial of Dasuki in a case filed against him by the EFCC for alleged criminal diversion of over N19b has been stalled at the FCT high court Abuja.
The case was stalled following a letter from the counsel to Dasuki, Mr. Ahmed Raji SAN that he was before an election tribunal matter in Kogi State and as such the court adjourned the case to January 22 to enable him defend his client.
While other parties in the suit conceded to the letter counsel to the EFCC Mr. Rotimi Jacobs SAN standing for EFCC expressed reservations on the grounds that the defence has a team of lawyers who could have managed the case.
On his part the trial judge justice Hussain Baba-Yusuf adjourned the case to the 22nd of January for trial to commence.
