EFCC re-arraigns former NSA, NNPC director over alleged ₦33bn money laundering
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) will re-arraign the former National Security Adviser (NSA), Colonel Sambo Dasuki (retd), and a former General Manager of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Aminu Baba-Kusa, along with two companies, Acacia Holdings Limited and Reliance Referral Hospital Limited, before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on Tuesday.
The fresh arraignment follows the reassignment of the case by the FCT Chief Judge, Justice Hussein Baba-Yusuf, who previously handled the matter before his elevation.
The case has now been transferred to Justice Charles Agbaza, where proceedings will start afresh.
Dasuki, who served in the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan, and his co-defendants were initially arraigned on December 14, 2015, before Justice Baba-Yusuf on a 19-count charge of money laundering and criminal breach of trust involving N13.5 billion.
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The prosecution later amended the charges, dropping one defendant, Shuaibu Salisu, and re-arraigned the others on May 11, 2018, with an expanded 32-count charge related to the alleged misappropriation of N33.2 billion earmarked for arms procurement to combat the Boko Haram insurgency.
Despite years of legal proceedings, the trial had stalled, with the prosecution presenting only one witness before the case was indefinitely adjourned.
The delays were exacerbated by Dasuki’s prolonged detention by the Department of State Services (DSS), despite multiple court orders granting him bail.
The EFCC had also instituted a separate case against Dasuki, involving a former Minister of State for Finance, Ambassador Bashir Yuguda, and ex-Sokoto State Governor Attahiru Bafarawa, among others, over an alleged N19.4billion fraud.
That case has been progressing under Justice Yusuf Halilu.
Tuesday’s re-arraignment comes after increasing pressure to reassign the case, as Justice Baba-Yusuf’s responsibilities as Chief Judge have expanded.
The EFCC is expected to push for an expedited hearing of the long-running case.
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