The Court of Appeal has varied the terms attached to the bail condition granted to the detained National Security Adviser (NSA), Colonel Sambo Dasuki (retired) in his trial over $2bn arms deal.
In a unanimous judgement delivered by Justice Stephen Adah, the court expunged the requirement that Dasuki produced a level 16 civil servant, who must own a property worth N100 million within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), as surety.
The appellate court said the inclusion of civil servants as surety was an oversight on the part of the court, instead he should produce two sureties, with property worth N100 million within the FCT.
The court is also of the view that issue of involving civil servants or public officers in the service of the federation or the state in bail of people accused of offences has never been the practice anywhere that is civilised, and must be stopped.
The court, therefore, granted Dasuki ‘s request in the sum of N100m with two sureties in like sum.
Dasuki, who is currently being held in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS), despite being granted bail, challenged his continued detention since December 2015 before the Federal High Court in Abuja via a fundamental rights enforcement suit.
On July 2, 2018, the Federal High Court granted Dasuki bail, but attached conditions, which the ex-NSA found too stringent to meet in which he proceeded to the Court of Appeal and sought a review of the bail conditions, a request the appellant court granted.
