By Charles Pemu 
ABUJA—The Federal High Court in Abuja yesterday declined to admit a set of crucial exhibits the Federal Government sought to tender against former National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd), who is facing charges of money laundering and illegal firearms possession.
Justice Peter Lifu, in his ruling, threw out the evidence, stating that the exhibits were rejected in a previous ruling and could not be readmitted in the current trial, as this would amount to “judicial rascality.”
Justice Lifu recalled delivering a “considered ruling” on July 10, 2025, which rejected the exact same exhibits due to a lack of proper foundation and relevance.
“That ruling still subsists, and I am bound by it. Any attempt to toe the paths of going against the same ruling will definitely amount to judicial rascality and pettiness,” Justice Lifu held. He maintained that the prosecution’s request effectively invited the trial court to sit on appeal over its own subsisting ruling.
The Federal Government’s team, led by Mr. Oladipupo Okpeseyi, SAN, had sought to tender what it called vital proof of evidence, which were items 18 to 28 recovered during a search warrant execution at Dasuki’s residence in 2015.
Okpeseyi also urged the court to move its sitting to the Abuja headquarters of the Department of State Services (DSS) to inspect some of the physical evidence, including a vehicle which he noted has been parked at the DSS premises for the past 10 years.
Dasuki’s Counsel Opposes Re-Tendering
Dasuki’s lawyer, Mr. A. A. Usman, vehemently opposed the application, stressing that since the trial court had already ruled the evidence inadmissible, the only legitimate option available to the prosecution was to challenge the ruling at the Court of Appeal.
Usman contended that the prosecution’s fresh bid was “baseless, ill-conceived, misplaced, unwarranted,” and a mere “ploy to draw the hand of the clock backward.”
Dasuki, who pleaded not guilty to the amended seven-count charge, is accused of illegally possessing various firearms and retaining sums of money—including $40,000, N5 million, and an additional $20,000—in his Abuja home on July 17, 2015, in violation of the Firearms Act and the Money Laundering Prohibition Act. He is also facing two separate money laundering charges before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).