Justice Husseini Baba Ahmed of the Federal Capital Territory High Court on Thursday compelled the Federal Government to produce the embattled former National Security Adviser, retired Colonel Sambo Dasuki, in court to answer criminal charges brought against him.
The judge, who took a 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 downed on them that the Judge will not shift position.
Dasuki was brought to the court around 11am in compliance with the court order under tight security.
A Judge of the Federal High Court, Abuja, Justice Adeniyi Ademola, had on Wednesday ordered the Federal Government to produce Dasuki before him on February 16 to answer another set 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 Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for alleged criminal diversion of over N19 billion has been stalled at the FCT High Court, Abuja.
The case was stalled following a letter from the counsel to Dasuki, Ahmed Raji (SAN), that he was before an election tribunal 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, Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), standing in for the EFCC, expressed reservations on the grounds that the defence has a team of lawyers that could have managed the case.
On his part, the trial judge, Justice Hussain Baba-Yusuf, adjourned the case to January 22 for trial to commence.
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