The former National Security Adviser, Colonel Sambo Dasuki (retd.), who is on trial for allegedly diverting over $2.1 billion arms procurement funds, said on Thursday that foreign investors are not encouraged to come to Nigeria as a result of his prolonged incarceration.
Dasuki, who has been in the custody of the DSS since December 29, 2015, is being prosecuted before Justice Adeniyi Ademola on four counts of money laundering and illegal possession of firearms.
He told a Federal High Court in Abuja, that his detention by the Department of State Service in spite of him being granted bail, is affecting the nation’s image, and ultimately- the economy.
Speaking through his lawyer, Joseph Daudu (SAN), the former NSA said his continued detention violated the order of the court which granted him bail on September 1, 2015 and another court which gave him the permission to travel abroad for medical treatment on November 3, 2015.
Daudu urged Justice Ademola to stop the trial and bar the Federal Government from prosecuting his client while he also requested for an order to discharge Dasuki until the orders of the court were complied with.
He further stated that the detention of Dasuki would impress on foreign investors that Nigeria was a country where court orders were not respected.
“The most obvious evidence of the breach of the orders of the court is that the defendant is still in the custody and brought to this court by the Department of State Service.”
