Supreme Court dismisses adviser’s appeal, orders accelerated hearing

The Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal brought to it by the former National Security Adviser, retired Col. Sambo Dasuki , against his continuous detention by the Federal Government.

Delivering judgment, Justice Datti Mohammed, leading other four justices held that the appeal lacked merit.

“The main issue for determination in this appeal is whether the trial court and the Court of Appeal were right when they said the order made by the trial court has not been disobeyed.

“In other words, the question is whether the order made by the trial court has been disobeyed to warrant the application culminating in this present appeal.

“Both courts answered in the negative holding that the order made by the trial court was not flouted. and the Court of Appeal affirmed this position.

“ The central issue both at the courts below is whether the first respondent (DSS) did in fact disobey the order made on Dec.18, 2015, admitting the appellant to bail.

“That central issue was the substance of the three issues formulated by the appellant and the sole issue formulated by the first respondent at the Court of Appeal’’, he said.

The judge further held that the core issue was not missed by the Court of Appeal.

“ It was, in fact, firmly considered that the appellant in this interlocutory appeal has merely made fair hearing a weeping principle to filibuster all the way to this court.

“An appeal brought not bonafide but merely to delay a pending action or to gag other prospective actions is clearly an abuse of process.

“The appeal which is lacking in merit, clearly typical of an abuse of court process is hereby dismissed in its entirety.

“The case is remitted to the trial judge, Justice H.B Yusuf of the FCT High Court for hearing and with further directive that it shall be given accelerated hearing’’, Mohammed held.

The ex-NSA had on June 15, 2016 at the Court of Appeal in Abuja, lost his bid to enforce his freedom after securing bails on all the charges against him.

Mr Joseph Daudu (SAN), Counsel to Dasuki had submitted that his client needed the bail to prepare his defence.

He said with the unfolding development, Dasuki was already being treated as a convict, even when none of the charges brought against him had been concluded.

Daudu had prayed the apex court to momentarily halt the applicant’s trial until the Federal Government obeyed the bail order of court.

On his part, Mr Rotimi Jacobs, counsel to the prosecutor, did oppose the appeal, as he claimed lacked merit.

He said the bail condition granted Dasuki was perfected on Dec. 29, 2015.

Jacobs, also said a warrant of release to that effect was served on the Comptroller of Prisons in Kuje, upon which he was released.

Jacobs said the Federal Government had not violated his rights, adding that the applicant was only re-arrested by the operatives of the DSS over other fraud allegations.

He said that it was unfair for the applicant to consider his re-arrest as a disobedience to court’s order on his bail.

He said no court bail was targeted at or addressed to the DSS when granted as the security outfit was never a party in the matter with which bail was granted.