After a Decade, DSS Bid to Re-Introduce Evidence Sparks Clash in Dasuki’s Protracted Firearms Trial
In a dramatic turn within a decade-long legal battle, the trial of former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd), was again mired in controversy on Thursday as the Department of State Services (DSS) applied to re-tender exhibits previously rejected by the court.
The move, immediately condemned by the defence as “strange and unknown to law,” prompted Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, to adjourn for a ruling on October 14, 2025.
The development comes just a day after the trial was disrupted by the absence of a prosecution witness, despite the judge’s explicit order for the case to conclude by the end of September.
The DSS, through its lead counsel, Oladipupo Okpeseyi, SAN, made an oral application to have the court inspect 11 vehicles allegedly recovered from Dasuki’s Abuja residence during a search in 2015. These vehicles, stored at the DSS headquarters for ten years, were part of a list of items initially rejected by the court for lack of a “proper foundation.”
Okpeseyi argued that the exhibits’ earlier rejection was a procedural issue, not a question of relevance. “My lord, the exhibits were rejected not because they were irrelevant but because the foundation for their admission was not laid at that time. We have now re-laid that foundation and have the right to re-present them,” he contended.
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The request was met with fierce opposition from Dasuki’s counsel, A. A. Usman, who accused the prosecution of attempting to re-litigate a settled matter. Usman argued that a court’s decision to reject an exhibit is final unless overturned by an appellate court.
“This application is strange, baseless, ill-conceived, and a ploy to delay this trial further,” Usman asserted. “The court has already ruled that these exhibits have no relevance to the firearms charge. The prosecution cannot now ask your lordship to sit as an Appeal Court over your own decision. Their only recourse was to appeal, which they did not do.”
The clash occurred during the testimony of the second prosecution witness, Musa Duniyor, a DSS operative who participated in the 2015 search. After Duniyor listed the recovered items—including the 11 vehicles, a bank statement, and a flash drive—Okpeseyi made his unexpected application, setting the stage for the legal showdown.
The trial, which began in 2015, involves an amended seven-count charge against the former NSA, including the unlawful possession of firearms and money laundering. With the latest adjournment, the case’s conclusion by the end of September, as directed by the court, appears increasingly uncertain.
All eyes will now be on the Federal High Court’s ruling on October 14, which will determine whether a decade-old evidence can be resurrected or if the trial must finally proceed without it.
By PRNigeria
