– The federal government has made a second application to try the former national security adviser Sambo Dasuki secretly
– The Nigerian government prayed the court to protect witnesses that will testify against the former security adviser
– FG said the names and addresses of the witnesses should be hidden from the general public
The federal government on Tuesday, January 31, applied for a protection of its witnesses in the trial of the former national security adviser Sambo Dasuki.
In its second application for secret trial, prosecuting counsel, Oladipo Okpeseyi prayed the court to protect the witnesses that will testify against Dasuki.
The application dated January 23 and filed on January 24 urged the court to protect the witness by not allowing their names and addressees to be exposed in the public domain.
But in his objection, counsel to Dasuki asked the court to dismiss the application.
Ahmed Raji said the application brought by the federal government lacks merit.
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He also said the application constitutes a gross abuse of court process.
Raji also argued that there was no justification for the federal government to have brought the motion for secret trial for the second time having lost in the first motion.
He also pointed out that the Nigerian government had contradicted itself by placing the charges and identities of the witness to be used against the former security adviser in the public domain.
He added that bringing the same motion to the same court constituted a gross abuse of court process and that what the prosecution ought to do if not satisfied with the decision of Justice Ademola, was to have gone to court of Appeal to ventilate its anger.
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The former security adviser with an attached copy of an earlier court ruling urged the court not to allow the motion for secret trial.
He said allowing such will violate his right to fair hearing which is contrary to the principle of the rule of law and natural justice
However, due to the prosecution’s inability to respond to the motion raised by the defendant the judge over the case, Ahmed Mohammed, adjourned the matter to Wednesday, March 1, for hearing of the motion before the court.
Recall that in a similar manner, the federal government had applied for a secret trial for Nnamdi Kanu after the application was denied and reviewed by Justice John Tsoho of the Federal High Court.
The application was later approved by Justice Binta Nyako after Tsoho disqualified himself from the matter.
360naze
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