Crime & Court
Appeal Court Grants Dasuki’s Request, Varies Bail Condition
The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has acceded to the request of the detained former National Security Adviser, Colonel Sambo Dasuki for the variation of the terms attached to the bail earlier granted him.
In a joint judgment, a three-man panel of the court expunged the requirement that Dasuki produced a Level 16 civil servant, who must own a property worth N100million within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) as surety.
In the lead judgment, Justice Stephen Adah said the inclusion of civil servants as surety was an oversight on the part of the court.
He also ordered that Colonel Dasuki should instead; produce two sureties, with property worth N100 million within the FCT.
Colonel Dasuki, who is currently being held in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS) despite being granted bail, challenged his continued detention since December 2015 before the Federal High Court in Abuja through a fundamental rights enforcement suit.
According to the July 2, 2018 judgment, the Federal High Court granted Dasuki bail but attached conditions, which the ex-NSA found too stringent to meet.
He asked the appeal court on that issue and sought a review of the bail conditions, a request the appellate court acceded to in its decision of June 13, 2019.
Part of the new conditions set by the Court of Appeal was that Dasuki produces a surety, who must be a Level 16 official in the Civil Service of either the Federal or state government, who must as well own a property worth N100m within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Dasuki who also found this part of the latest conditions difficult to meet, returned to the court, via an application, and prayed for a further review.
He said in the application that it was difficult to find a Level 16 Civil Servant who could own N100m worth of property in Abuja through his legitimate earnings.
Justice Adah, in the Appeal Court judgment, said the court’s decision to request that Dasuki produce a civil servant as surety was an oversight.
“Of concern to us is that we as a court must be ready and sensitive enough not to do anything that will run against the laws of the land.
“The issue of involving civil servants or public officers in the service of the federation or the state in bail of people accused of offences has never been the practice anywhere that is civilised, and we should stop it at this level.
“It was an error that we allowed that to stay. So, it is in this respect that we will act ex debito justitiae (as a matter of right) ensuring that aspect of the condition is removed from the conditions of bail that were granted.
“It is in this respect that we grant this application, thereby inaugurating a new regime of bail. Bail is now granted to the appellant/applicant in the sum of N100m with two sureties in like sum.
“The sureties shall be resident within the jurisdiction of the trial court and each of which shall furnish evidence of ownership of the property in Abuja. This shall be the order of the court,” Justice Adah said.
Justices Abubakar Yahaya and Emmanuel Agim, who were also on the panel, agreed with the lead judgment.
Justice Maryanne Anenih of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory has issued a public summons for former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello to appear in court to respond to a fresh 16-count indictment.
The summons requires Bello to attend court on October 24 for his arraignment, alongside co-defendants Umar Oricha and Abdulsalami Hudu.
The public summons was ordered following an application by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
In her ruling, Justice Anenih directed the EFCC to publish the summons in a widely circulated newspaper to ensure proper notification.
Also, the court instructed the EFCC to post copies of the public summons at Bello’s last known address and in conspicuous locations within the court premises.
The EFCC has reported difficulties in serving the charges, which were filed on September 24, alleging that Bello and the two co-defendants committed a criminal breach of trust involving a staggering ₦110.4 billion.
A Police Inspector, Mohammed Bulama, attached to the Police Mobile Force (PMF) 41 in Yobe State, has been arrested for allegedly killing a 39-year-old civilian, Abdulmalik Dauda, during a confrontation in Damaturu, the state capital.
The incident, which occurred on September 29, 2024, was sparked by a heated argument between Bulama and Dauda over “uncleared transactions” in the Zango area of Damaturu. The argument escalated, leading Bulama to fatally stab Dauda in the chest.
In a statement, the Yobe State Police spokesperson, Dungus Abdulkarim, confirmed Bulama’s arrest and announced that an investigation into the homicide case had been launched.
“The Commissioner of Police, CP Garba Ahmed, has ordered an immediate and thorough investigation into the incident involving Inspector Mohammed Bulama,” Abdulkarim said.
He further disclosed that the officer has been placed in custody, pending internal disciplinary action and prosecution.
CP Ahmed condemned the actions of the officer, extending his condolences to the family of the victim.
He also assured the public that justice would be served swiftly in accordance with the law.
The Lagos State Police Command has summoned three officers accused of extorting N1 million from members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in the Surulere area of Lagos.
Footage of the incident, which went viral on social media late Friday, shows the officers confronting the corps members, reportedly over the absence of a physical copy of a driver’s license. The video was shared by social media user Oluyemi Fasipe, who claimed that the officers threatened the corps members with firearms and forcibly took them to the Kafaru Oluwole Tinubu House, the Area C Command of the Lagos State Police, where they allegedly extorted the sum of N1 million.
“Dear @BenHundeyin, Your officers today in Surulere extorted 1 million naira from three corps members,” Fasipe wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “They were threatened with firearms, kidnapped, and taken to the KAFARU OLUWOLE TINUBU HOUSE AREA C POLICE COMMAND of the @LagosPoliceNG where they were robbed.”
Fasipe added that the entire incident stemmed from the corps members’ inability to present a physical copy of a driver’s license, a situation he described as “evil.”
In one of the videos, the officers are seen inspecting the vehicle’s documents, with the situation escalating as additional officers arrived. One officer can be seen entering the car and demanding that the corps members stop recording the incident, while also prohibiting them from contacting their families.
In response, the spokesperson of the Lagos State Police Command, Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed that the officers involved have been summoned, and an investigation is underway.
“The men have been summoned, and their trial has commenced,” Hundeyin wrote on X. “We urge the complainants to visit the Complaint Response Unit at the State Headquarters to testify at the ongoing trial.”
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