Dasuki: Co-defendant admits writing statement under caution in trial-within-trial
Aminu Baba Kusa, the second defendant in the trial of former National Security Adviser, retired Colonel Sambo Dasuki, on Friday admitted before Justice Charles O. Agbaza of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Abuja, that he personally wrote his extrajudicial statement at the office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission after reading and understanding the cautionary words preceding the writing of the statement.
Kusa also admitted appending his signature to the statement.
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Etim Ekpimah
Aminu Baba Kusa, the second defendant in the trial of former National Security Adviser, retired Colonel Sambo Dasuki, on Friday admitted before Justice Charles O. Agbaza of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Abuja, that he personally wrote his extrajudicial statement at the office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission after reading and understanding the cautionary words preceding the writing of the statement.
Kusa also admitted appending his signature to the statement.
He made the admission during cross-examination by prosecuting counsel, O.A. Atolagbe, in a trial-within-trial instituted to determine the admissibility of the extrajudicial statement after he alleged midway into the trial that the statement had been obtained under duress by the EFCC, contrary to the provisions of Sections 15(4) and 17(3) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015.
The defendant, a former Group Executive Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, now Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, also admitted that his statement was taken after a search had been conducted at his residence and that its contents were entirely based on the outcome of the search.
Challenging the defendant’s claim that he spent 30 days in EFCC custody from November 24 to December 24, 2015, the prosecuting counsel drew his attention to the fact that he appeared before Justice Baba Yusuf on December 14, 15 and 18, 2015, during which he was granted bail and later released after meeting his bail conditions.
The cross-examination followed the examination of the defendant by his counsel, as well as that of the third defendant, Solomon Umoh, SAN.
Justice Agbaza adjourned the matter until July 3, 2026, for continuation of the sub-trial.
Dasuki, Kusa, Acacia Holdings Limited and Reliance Referral Hospital Limited, Abuja, are facing prosecution by the EFCC on a 32-count charge bordering on criminal breach of trust and dishonesty involving N33.2bn.
