| Rtd. Col. Sambo Dasuki |
A former National Security
Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, on Monday triumphed at the Economic Community for West
African States (ECOWAS) court in the first leg of his court action challenging
his alleged unlawful arrest and detention since December last year by the
Nigerian government.
Against the objection of
government, the court ruled in Abuja that it has jurisdiction to entertain the
suit brought before it by Mr. Dasuki for the enforcement of his fundamental
rights to liberty and to own property as enshrined in the Nigerian 1999
constitution and African Charter on fundamental rights of persons, news agency,
PRNigeria, is reporting.
In the ruling delivered by
Justice Friday Chijoke Nwoke, the ECOWAS court dismissed the objection of
government against Mr. Dasuki’s suit on the ground that the objection was
misconceived, frivolous and lacked merit.
Justice Nwoke who delivered the
unanimous ruling by the three-member panel of the court, held that the claim of
government that Mr. Dasuki’s case emanated from his trial on certain offences
was inappropriate since the relieves sought by Mr. Dasuki had nothing to do
with his ongoing trial at the domestic courts of Nigeria.