Dasuki’s Trial: Defendants Made their Statements without Duress, Under Caution-Witness
The Third Prosecution Witness, PW3, Salihu Kadiri in the trial of the former National Security Adviser, NSA, Colonel Sambo Dasuki (retd) alongside Aminu Baba Kusa, Acacia Holdings Limited and Reliance Referral Hospital Limited on Wednesday, April 22, 2026 asserted in a trial-within-trial before Justice Charles Agbaza of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, High Court that the defendants made their extrajudicial statements voluntarily and under caution.
Dasuki and the three others are facing prosecution by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC on a 32-count charge, bordering on breach of trust and dishonesty to the tune of N33,200,000,000 (Thirty-Three billion, Two Hundred Million Naira).
Justice Agbaza had ordered a trial-within-trial after counsel to the second and fourth defendants, Richard Ebie and A.O. Ayodele, respectively, objected to the admissibility of their clients’ extrajudicial statements in the EFCC on ground that they were not voluntarily made, thus incompatible with Sections 15(4) and 17(3) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act ACJA.
The witness, an investigator with the EFCC while being led in evidence by prosecution counsel, Rotimi Jacobs, SAN, told the court that he took the statements of the second defendant as contained in Exhibit TWTA4 in TWTA1 to TWTA7 and affirmed that the defendant wrote his statement inside an EFCC office with his team members and other staff of the Commission present and that the witness made his statement voluntarily after words of caution were read to him.
In his cross examination of the witness, counsel to the second defendant, Solomon Umoh, SAN, sought to know if there were visitation records of staff members of Acacia Holdings Limited to the defendants while they were in the Commission’s custody, to which he replied in the affirmative.
When further asked if video and CCTV recordings were made of the second defendant while writing his statement, the witness replied in the negative, stating that the law did not stipulate that such a video recording should be made. He, however, said that there was a CCTV camera recording but asked the court to note that it was done about 10 years ago.
Counsel to the fourth defendant A.O. Ayodele demanded to know why the witness did not append his signature on the dotted lines for the witness, to which he said that his signing was not a requirement in law, but observed that his handwriting is on the statement.
The judge adjourned the matter till May 15 and 29, 2026 for the defence to open its case.
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