Judge Says EFCC Hasn't Erred In Detaining Dasuki After Meeting Bail Conditions

Justice Husseini Baba of the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Maitama, Abuja, yesterday February 8th, said the Federal government and operatives of the EFCC have not in anyway violated court order following his continued detention even after meeting his bail condition.

At the hearing of an application by Dasuki asking the court to stop DSS from detaining him, the presiding judge, Justice Baba, said his continued detention by DSS is not in anyway a contempt of court proceeding as he was arrested on fresh charges by the DSS the day he fulfilled his bail condition in December 2015

“At the end, it is my view that the application filed on behalf of the first defendant does not have any merit and I hold so. I therefore dismiss same. From paragraphs 6 and 7 of affidavit in support of this application, it is clear that after the first defendant/applicant satisfied the terms in Exhibit ‘Dasuki 2’ he was released from Federal prisons on December 29, 2015 at this point the order of the court, as far as I am concerned, which was directed at the Comptroller of Prisons, was in my view complied with. If the EFCC re-arrested the first defendant thereafter, it makes, subject to the circumstances of such arrest, an interference with due administration of justice but it cannot be a disobedience to the order of the court to release the applicant on bail. The reason is because in making the order of bail in favour of the first defendant, this court did not make any order against a re-arrest.”he said

The judge ruled that since it had been confirmed that Dasuki was being held by the Department of State Services, DSS, which “is a stranger” in the case, the EFCC which is prosecuting Dasuki and his co-accused could not be said to have violated the bail order. Dasuki is being tried for misappropriation of $2.1 billion arms deal.