Proceedings in the ongoing trial of former National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd), took a fresh turn on Friday as Aminu Baba Kusa, one of the co-defendants in the case, admitted before the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja that he personally wrote and signed his statement to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Kusa, a former Group Executive Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), made the admission while testifying before Justice Charles O. Agbaza during a trial-within-trial initiated to determine the admissibility of his extra-judicial statement.
The sub-trial followed Kusa’s claim that the statement was obtained under duress and in violation of provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015.
However, under cross-examination by EFCC prosecuting counsel, O.A. Atolagbe, the defendant acknowledged that he wrote the statement himself after reading and understanding the cautionary notice presented to him by investigators.
He further confirmed that he voluntarily appended his signature to the document.
Kusa also told the court that the statement was made after EFCC operatives had conducted a search of his residence and that the contents of the statement were largely based on issues arising from that exercise.
During the proceedings, the prosecution challenged Kusa’s assertion that he was unlawfully detained by the EFCC for 30 days between November 24 and December 24, 2015.
Atolagbe drew the court’s attention to records showing that the defendant appeared before Justice Baba Yusuf on December 14, 15 and 18, 2015, during which period he was granted bail and later released after fulfilling the bail conditions.
The cross-examination came after Kusa and counsel to the third defendant, Solomon Umoh (SAN), had presented their arguments in the sub-trial.
Following the proceedings, Justice Agbaza adjourned the matter until July 3, 2026, for the continuation of the trial-within-trial.
Dasuki, Kusa, Acacia Holdings Limited and Reliance Referral Hospital Limited are being prosecuted by the EFCC on a 32-count charge bordering on alleged criminal breach of trust and dishonesty involving N33.2 billion.
The anti-graft agency alleges that the funds were unlawfully handled during Dasuki’s tenure as National Security Adviser, an allegation the defendants have denied.
