A former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, has again been granted bail by the Court of Appeal.
The court also directed the federal government to pay Mr Dasuki N5 million for keeping him against the requirements of section 35(6) of the Constitution which provides every Nigerian the right to freedom of movement.
Since December 2015, Mr Dasuki has been kept by security operatives when he was detained on accusations that he had diverted $2.1 billion from funds intended for the war on terrorism.
The Nigerian government had flouted several court orders to release the former NSA.
In a decision issued on July 13, copies of which were seen by reporters on Saturday, the Court of Appeal set aside Mr Dasuki’s prior bail condition of N100 million to be paid money by twos ureties and substituted it with a N100 million bond.
Confirming the verdict an interview on Saturday, a lawyer with Mr Dasuki’s lead counsel’s Chambers, Ahmed Raji, said they filed the petition at the Court of Appeal to challenge, among other things, the excessive bail requirements.
“Yes it’s true. You know he had been granted bail several times by high courts and the bail conditions were excessive. Yet even after meeting the conditions, he was not released on bail,” said the lawyer, Adeola Adedipe, who had filed the application.
Mr Adedipe explained that “the previous bail of N100 million cash was paid but the government did not release Mr Dasuki.
He added that by the latest court order, “the N100 million noted by the court would be a bond, not a cash sum like the previous one.”
Mr Dasuki and his attorneys approached the court of appeal on June 13, according to the ‘ enrolled order ‘ seen by reporters.
According to the document, the primary purpose of their application was to appeal the above-mentioned court ruling on July 2, 2018.
The judgment included a N100 million bail bond, each of Mr Dasuki’s two sureties.
One of the sureties was required to be an employee of the federal government with a rank of no less than 16 who must submit his letter of appointment to the court and the last letter of his promotion to pave the way for Mr Dasuki’s release.
In the case of a private person being the guarantor in the July 2018 decision, the court ruled that the person must have landed property in Abuja and must submit the property’s original to the court and also swear to the means ‘ affidavit.
The judge said the surety must deposit N100 million with the court’s registrar and return the money to the surety at the end of the trial.
The judge also requested that his recent passport photograph be submitted to the court by the surety and that his residential address be verified as part of the bail condition by the court official.
Unhappy with the bail requirements, Mr Dasuki approached the court of appeal which ordered the bail requirements of July 2018 to be dropped. It then released the following new order:
“Bail is granted to the applicant with the sum of N100 million with two sureties in like sum. The sureties must be public servants not below the rank of grade level 16, with the federal or state government or any of its agencies and shall provide a valid document for his or her status to the registrar of the Court below.
“Each sureties must be registered within the jurisdiction of the FHC and their addresses verified by the registrar of the FHC.
“Each sureties shall produce two recent passport photographs and depose to affidavit of means.
“Each surety shall provide evidence of ownership of property within the FCT worth N100, 000.”
Mr Dasuki’s further detention was also forbidden by the court when he honors future requests to question.
According to the court order, prosecutors or anyone investigating Mr Dasuki must question him during work hours from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
However, the court added that Mr Dasuki’s international passport must remain with the court registrar.
The court also instructed the FHC registrar to advise the federal government “once Mr Dasuki meets the bail conditions” and ensure that the accused is released immediately.
