Why Dasuki was prevented from travelling – DSS

The Department of State Services has explained that it prevented the former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd.), from travelling abroad for medical treatment because he refused to appear before a committee set up by the Federal Government to investigate a N2billion arms transaction by the Goodluck Jonathan administration.

The service stated that Dasuki was invited to shed light on his involvement in the arms procurement processes, but had consistently refused to honour the committee’s invitation.

    

The DSS, in a statement on Thursday by an official, Tony Opuiyo, accused the former NSA of grandstanding and blackmail. The agency denied blocking Dasuki’s residence in violation of a subsisting court order granting him a relief to travel oversea for medical services, describing the allegation as “unfounded and malicious aimed at tarnishing the good image of the Service.” The statement read, “It may be recalled that Dasuki was initially arrested and charged to court for unlawful possession of firearms and money laundering, for which reason his international passport was seized and on the order of the court, returned to the registrar for custody.

“What has however brought the seeming standoff between Dasuki and the Service, despite the court-ordered release of his international passport on November 4, 2015, is his refusal to appear before a Committee undertaking the investigation of an entirely different case. “The public may wish to note that the government set up the committee to investigate procurement processes relating to a $2billion arms transaction by the last administration, under which Sambo was the NSA.

“It was on this premise that he was invited by the Committee to shed more light on his involvement in the deal. It therefore remains surprising and shocking that Sambo has refused to honour invitations of the committee but instead resorts to grandstanding and subtle blackmail of the Service. “His refusal to appear before the committee has left the Service with no option than to adopt legal means to ensure his attendance.”

The service accused Dasuki of pulling all strings available to him to evade justice and put it in bad light, stressing that it was not persecuting him.

 

But in a swift response Dasuki said after making his position clear, the SSS operatives threatened his personal security saying they “can force themselves into the House.” He said his current travails started on Tuesday after Justice Adeniyi Ademola of the Federal High court ordered his passport returned to him to enable him go abroad for medical treatment. He said he received “intelligence” that an order was given to the operatives to effect his arrest at the airport.
As a result, he failed to leave on Wednesday as arranged. He also said the SSS invited a former governor of Adamawa State, Boni Haruna, who stood as his surety in court, and intimidated him. “They brought Boni Haruna to my house yesterday asking him to invite me to go with them just to clarify something. I told them that since this matter is in court, I am not under obligation to deal with them and advised them to go to court if they have any issue related to the case,” he said. Mr. Dasuki accused the SSS and the governing All Progressives Congress of abuse of power. “We were also in power and if we had abused it the way they are doing now, they would never have been here,” he said. “It is unfortunate.”
The former NSA said the way the SSS was handling the matter was exactly how things were poorly handled in the past that then threw up the Boko Haram insurgency. “Instead of following the legal way of doing things, some people decided to take the laws into their hands and see where we are today,” he said.