Immediate past National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd), on Monday at the
Economic Community for West African States (ECOWAS)
Court won the first leg of his case challenging his alleged
unlawful arrest and detention without trial since December
last year by the federal government.
The court which sat in Abuja ruled that it has jurisdiction to entertain
the suit brought before it by Dasuki for the enforcement of
his fundamental rights to liberty and to own properties as
enshrined in the provisions of the Nigerian 1999 constitution
and African Charter on fundamental rights of persons.
In the ruling delivered by Justice Friday Chijoke Nwoke, the
ECOWAS court dismissed outright the objection of the
government against Dusuki’s suit on the ground that the
objection was misplaced, misconceived, frivolous and
lacked merit.
Justice Nwoke in the unanimous ruling of the 3-member
panel of the court held that the claim of government that
Dasuki’s case emanated from his trial on certain offences
was inappropriate and being basis for its objection to the
applicants case in this matter could not hold water since
the reliefs sought by Dasuki have nothing to do with the
ongoing trial at the domestic courts of Nigeria.
The justices said that in their own opinion, the claim of
government that Dasuki ought to have filed contempt
charge against the Nigerian government for disobeying
court orders that admitted him to bail but flouted by the
government was not sustainable because his the case of
applicant was not ambiguous, in that it was not based on
any criminal trial in any court.
Justice Nwoke said that at any rate, the case of Nigerian
government could not stand in the face of the law because
there was no evidence that Dasuki had filed similar pending
matter in any international court and that even if he had
similar matter in any Nigerian court up to Supreme Court,
such domestic courts could not have the status of
international court as envisaged in the treaty in which
Nigeria was a signatory.
“In our opinion, what Dasuki brought before us as
a case is an issue for the enforcement of his fundamental
rights to liberty and own property and against unlawful
arrest, unlawful detention and unlawful seizure of properties
without any court order or warrant of arrest.
“From the totality of the issues brought before this court, it
is clear and there is no ambiguity that the applicant is
seeking enforcement of his right to freedom and not on the
issue of his trial for any alleged offence before any Nigerian
court,” the judge ruled.
