had on May 16 reserved judgment till today after
taking final argument from Dasuki’s lawyer Mr.
Robert Emukperuo and government lawyer Mr.
Tijani Gazali.
However, journalists, lawyers and other observers
who stormed the regional court in Abuja
Wednesday were taken aback when they were told
that the much awaited verdict of the court was
not ready and that the new date for the judgment
would be communicated to lawyers when ready.
At the court entrance, journalists, lawyers and
observers were turned back by about twelve
security men who told them that the court
management had mandated them to tell everybody
that judgment was not ready, prompting the
people to leave one after the other when the
reality dawned on them that the court will not sit
after all.
Dasuki had dragged the Federal Government
before the ECOWAS Court praying the regional
court to intervene in his detention without trial
since December last year.
The ex-NSA asked the court to void the detention,
the seizure of his properties and to bar
government from further detaining him without a
lawful court order.
In the court action instituted by his counsel Mr.
Robert Emukpoeruo, Dasuki asked the court to
award in his favor a sum of N500 million as
compensatory damages for his alleged unlawful
invasion of his house, detention, seizure of
properties and infringement on his rights.
He claimed that government had put him on trial in
three different high courts on corruption charges
where he was granted bail and that after his bail,
he was re-arrested on December 29, 2015 and has
since been held incommunicado without lawful
court order.
Dasuki told the ECOWAS Community Court of
Justice that the federal government has no legal
or moral justification for his continued
incarceration since December last year.
The ex-NSA who argued through his counsel, while
making his final address predicated his stance on
Sections 293-296 of the Administration of Criminal
Justice Act ACJA 2015 which outlines the
procedure for keeping a suspect in detention for
not more than two weeks.
"To accentuate the illegality of the arrest and
detention of the applicant, the ACJA 2015, S.293
to 296 thereof, set out the procedure for the
detention of any person pending trial or
investigation. And in summary, that procedure
requires judicial intervention by a magistrate for it
to be carried out and the maximum detention
time-frame is two weeks", he submitted.
Emukperuo had earlier filed an application to
amend the originating application by including
additional reliefs, a request the court granted,
ordering the defendant to respond, if any, within 15
days to the issues raised in the amendment.
He prayed the court to order the release of his
client and as well order the government to pay
N500 million as compensation to Dasuki.
He recalled how several courts had granted Dasuki
bail and how President Muhammadu Buhari had
stated in a media chat that the ex-NSA cannot just
be released.
He said his client's arrest and detention by the
defendant is without any legal justification
because it was not backed with any court order.
"The critical issue that needs to be resolved is
whether there is any legal justification for the
detention of the applicant by the defendant", he
said, adding that the only justification in the
amended statement of defence adduced by the
defendant for detaining the applicant is the
recourse to national security.
"They have not adduced before this court any
judicial procedure that they have relied on in
incarcerating the applicant.
"They have equally not relayed to the court any
domestic legislation whatsoever to justify the
detention of the applicant.
"My lord I submit that this is a classic case of
arbitrary and illegal arrest", he added.
The counsel further submitted that the
government has defied all known legal instruments
or legislation by not following its own laws.
He said apart from its complete disdain for the
laws of the land, government has also not followed
judicial orders given by courts of competent
jurisdiction.
Emukperuo said on the issue of being in
possession of arms, Dasuki was granted bail on
self-recognition and the Ministry of Justice did not
oppose the application for bail, wondering why
they had to still keep him in detention having not
opposed the bail application if they knew he was a
security risk.
"It is a spurious defence conceived in bad faith,
and I urge the court to dismiss it", he pleaded.
But the Federal Government through its counsel,
Mr. Tijani Gazali, had argued a preliminary
objection against Dasuki on the ground that he
ought to have filed a contempt charge against the
government for alleged disobedience to court
order on the bail granted him but the ECOWAS
Court ruled that the case of the plaintiff was on
his fundamental rights and has nothing to do with
the domestic court.
While no reason was giving for the indefinite
adjournment of the ruling on Dasuki's case, it was
learnt that the ECOWAS Court and its Parent body
the ECOWAS Secretariat may be financially broke.
Recently the Vice President of the ECOWAS Court
of Justice, Justice Micah Wright disclosed that
one of the impediments that the court was facing
was insufficient fund for its operation due to non-
payment of levy by member states.
“The court and by extension the entire community
is facing financial difficulties where member
states are not paying up the community levy and
that is the means of finance for all ECOWAS
activities,” he said.
“The court is always at disadvantage when the
funds are being distributed. But we have to take
more initiatives to impress it upon the commission
the mandate of the court is of such that the court
is alone.
“The court cannot source external funding like the
commission or like other institutions. We don’t
want to compromise our independence and
neutrality by going out to seek donor funding.”
At another occasion, the President of ECOWAS,
Mr. Marcel De Souza expressed frustration over
the paucity of funds being experienced by the
commission.
De Souza, spoke when he led a delegation from
the commission to a courtesy visit on the Minister
of State for Foreign Affairs, Mrs Khadijat Abba-
Ibrahim.
He appealed to Nigeria and other member states
to rescue the commission by paying up their
outstanding levies.
“The community levy which represents 90 percent
of our funding is no longer regularly paid by most
member states; Nigeria is not alone in this regard,
also Cote D’Ivoire.
“We see that the greatest challenge lies with
Nigeria. The arrears that Nigeria owes are 694,000
dollars because there was no payment made
between 2015 and 2016.
“Because of the debt burden it carries, ECOWAS is
now losing its credibility,” the president said.
Meanwhile President Muhammadu Buhari had
earlier assured of Nigeria’s continued commitment
to meet all her obligations to the ECOWAS
Commission.
Buhari made the pledged last month (May 27,
2016) while receiving the new president of the
ECOWAS Commission, Mr. Marcel Alain de Souza
in State House, Abuja.
The President was reported to have told the
ECOWAS delegation that "the federal government
of Nigeria would strive to show good example by
meeting all its financial obligations to the sub-
regional organization."
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