The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Tuesday re-arraigned former National Security Adviser, Colonel Sambo Dasuki (retd), alongside Aminu Baba-Kusa, a former General Manager of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), and two companies, Acacia Holdings Limited and Reliance Referral Hospital Limited, over an alleged N33.2 billion fraud.
The high-profile case, which has spanned nearly a decade, was brought before Justice Charles Agbaza at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory in Abuja, in a fresh chapter in one of Nigeria’s most significant corruption trials.
The EFCC alleged that the accused diverted a staggering N33.2 billion through fraudulent transactions during Dasuki’s tenure under former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration.
At the resumed hearing on Tuesday, the defendants pleaded not guilty to the 32 counts read to them.
The prosecution counsel, Oluwaleke Atolagbe, then requested a trial date.
Lawyers to Dasuki and Baba-Kusa, A.A. Usman and Richard Ibiye, urged the court to allow the defendants to continue enjoying their existing bail, assuring that they had always been present for court proceedings.
The prosecution did not oppose the request but stressed the importance of the defendants’ continued presence throughout the trial.
After considering submissions from both sides, Justice Agbaza ruled that the defendants should remain on their existing bail and adjourned the trial to July 1.
This re-arraignment follows a reassignment of the case by FCT Chief Judge, Justice Hussein Baba-Yusuf, who previously presided over the matter.
Dasuki’s legal battles date back to December 14, 2015, when he was initially arraigned alongside Shuaibu Salisu, a former Director of Finance at the Office of the National Security Adviser, on a 19-count charge tied to an initial N15.5 billion fraud allegation.
The charges were later amended in May 2018, expanding the lawsuit to N33.2 billion and dropping Salisu from the case.
