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Court blasts EFCC, stops Dasuki's aide trial over falsehood

– A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Tuesday, March 21, suspended the trial of an aide to the former national security adviser Sambo Dasuki

– Nicholas Ashinze and three others are facing trial over an alleged unlawful transfer of N 3 billion from the Office of the National Security Adviser

– Justice Gabriel Kolawole ordered the suspension of the trial pending when EFCC puts its house in order

Court blasts EFCC, stops Dasuki's aide's trial over falsehood

The Federal High Court in Abuja has warned the EFCC to desist from media trial of accused persons

A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Tuesday, March 21, suspended the trial of an aide to the former national security adviser Sambo Dasuki.

Nicholas Ashinze, an army colonel, and three others are facing trial before Justice Gabriel Kolawole over an alleged unlawful transfer of N3 billion from the Office of the National Security Adviser.

At the resumed hearing, counsel to Ashinze, Ernest Nwoye informed the court that a press statement issued by the EFCC against his client.

Nwoye in a protest said the EFCC in its statement said Ashinze had already being indicted by the court for diverting and misappropriating N36 billion.

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He also said that the anti-graft agency referred to Ashinze, a serving military colonel as a retired officer of the Nigerian army.

Nwoye further tendered the EFCC’s statement and a newspaper publication as evidence before the court to establish a bias and misinterpretation of the March 7, 2017, court process on the matter.

Nwoye also told the court that Ashinze was never charged by EFCC for any offence on N36 billion diversion and misappropriation.

He added that he wondered where EFCC media team, that was not present in the court, got its proceeding that the defendant had been indicted for the amount.

The counsel also urged the court to frown at media trial of the defendant. He said such action if not checked, will lead to misrepresentation of facts by the general public.

In his reaction, Justice Kolawole asked the EFCC counsel, Ofem Uket if he was aware of the said statement.

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Uket in his response denied having issued any statement on behalf of the commission.

He however admitted receiving letter of complaint from Nwoye and that he has consulted with EFCC and discovered that the press statement was actually released to the media.

He also said that contrary to the charge of N3 billion alleged transfer, evidence from witnesses have shown that about N5 billion was involved.

Subsequently expressing his dissatisfaction, Kolawole, ordered the suspension of the trial pending when EFCC puts

its house in order.

He also cautioned the commission and its agents to desist from misleading the public on court proceedings.

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Kolawole in a short ruling on Nwoye’s protest said: “It is unfair for EFCC as a complainant in this trial to resort to self-help by engaging the defendant in the media trial at the same time in the court trial.”

“If you want to try the defendant in the media, you have to limit yourself to the media. You have to stop misleading the public in the fact of this trial,” Kolawole said.

“Let me say it for the sake of emphasis that EFCC must stop the use of journalists to distort proceedings in my court. You cannot be engaging in two trial: one in the court and one in the media at the same time.

If you are not satisfied with my decision to stop this trial pending the time the EFCC retract this offending press statement of my court proceeding, then you can take your case to another court

“This press statement by one Wilson Uwujare who claimed to be from EFCC is scandalous and prejudice to fair trial of the defendant in this matter,” he said.

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“In order to prevent media and court trial at the same time with one misrepresenting the order, I have stopped this trial pending the time the EFCC retracts the offending press statement. The trial of the defendant has nothing to do with N36billion diversion and misappropriation.

“The retraction has to be done between now and April 13, 2017. And this EFCC witness is hereby ordered to step down from the witness box and come back on April 13, 2017.

“The court proper proceeding cannot materialize where records and facts of the case are being distorted by EFCC that is even the complainant in the matter,” the judge said.

Ashinze, an Austrian, Wolfgang Reinl; Edidiong Idiong and Sagir D. Mohammed were arraigned before the court on a 13-count charge of corruption and money laundering to the tune of N3.1 billion.

The defendants while taking their plea, pleaded not guilty to the charges against them.

The individuals were also arraigned alongside five companies accused of allegedly diverting huge sums from the office of the NSA.

The companies are: Geonel Integrated Services Limited, Unity Continental Nigeria Limited, Helpline Organization, Vibrant Resource Limited and Sologic Integrated Services Limited.

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