ECOWAS court orders FG to pay N15m to former NSA, Sambo Dasuki, for unlawfully arresting him

                                       

The court of the Economic Community of West African States‎ (ECOWAS) has ordered the federal government to pay N15m as compensation to Sambo Dasuki, former national security adviser (NSA), for his “unlawful arrest”.

The court described as “unlawful and arbitrary”, his arrest by the Department of State Services (DSS) after local courts had granted him bail.

A panel of judges led by Friday Nwoke also described Dasuki’s detention as a mockery of democracy.

The former NSA is facing multiple charges of criminal breach of trust at different courts of the federal‎ capital territory (FCT).

He is also facing charges of illegal possession of firearms and money laundering at a federal high court in Abuja.

The charges were brought against him by the federal government.

Although all the courts granted him bail, he was re-arrested after leaving Kuje prison in November 2015.

‎Last week, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which is prosecuting him at the FCT high court, failed to make him available, prompting Peter Affen, the judge, to adjourn the case.

Dasuki claims his travails are politically motivated.