The defence in the ongoing trial of a former National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, Olisa Metuh, on Tuesday urged the Federal High Court in Abuja to order the arrest of the Director-General of the Department of State Service, Mr. Lawal Daura, for failing to produce the detained former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, in court.
Justice Okon Abang had on October 25 directed Dasuki and former President Goodluck Jonathan to appear in court on Tuesday in respect of the trial of Metuh. The court had earlier issued separate subpoenas on Dasuki and Jonathan upon Metuh’s application. But while as of October 25, Jonathan had yet to be served with the witness summon, Dasuki had been served through the Director-General of the DSS. The judge had also issued another subpoena on the DG of DSS to produce Dasuki in court on Tuesday. While Dauski was not produced in court on Tuesday, Jonathan’s lawyer, Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN), appeared in court to challenge the subpoena issued on the former President.
But Ozekhome, after he was granted permission to speak on the Dasuki issue, despite the objection of prosecuting and defence lawyers on record in the case, supported the call for Daura’s arrest, contending that the failure of the DSS to produce the ex-NSA in court on Tuesday amounted to taking the court for a ride. Justice Abang had on October 25 given the court bailiff five days to effect personal service of the subpoena on Jonathan and also directed the prosecuting counsel, Mr. Sylvanus Tahir, to persuade the management of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to liaise with the DSS to produce Dasuki in court on Tuesday (today). The counsel representing Metuh’s firm, Destra Investments Limited, the second defendant, Chief Tochukwu Onwugbufor (SAN) thereby urged the court “to apply the consequences provided by the law.”
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