Arms deal: Dasuki, Dokpesi, Bafarawa arrested

 Count me out – Saraki

By Chizoba Ogbeche and Ezrel Tabiowo,  Abuja

After a long siege spanning about one month, operatives of the Department of State Service (DSS) finally picked the immediate past National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd), yesterday  in Abuja.
Dasuki was arrested in the early hours of the day at his residence in Asokoro and taken to the Service Headquarters by the DSS operatives for  interrogation in connection with the controversial $2billion arms deals.

And simultaneously, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission , also arrested the founding chairman of DAAR Communications Plc, owners of AIT,  High Chief Raymond Dokpesi, and former of governor of Sokoto state, Attahiru Bafarawa.
Their arrests came some hours after a former Minister of State for Finance, Bashir Yuguda was also arrested on Monday by the anti-graft body  to explain his role in the whole deal.
Blueprint gathered that both  Dokpesi and Bafarawa were brought to the commission’s headquarters in Abuja and  questioned by  the operatives on their alleged involvement in the botched arms deal.

The duos were said to have been quizzed alongside Yuguda who was still  in the EFCC’s  custody at the time they were brought in.
Although Dokpesi’s arrest was linked to  the  N2.1billion  allegedly given him by the Central Bank of Nigeria on the instruction of the then NSA, our correspondent could not  readily get reasons for Bafarawa’s arrest. Sources however said the EFCC only wanted the former governor  to make one or two explanations  in respect of the deals.

Dokpesi arrived EFCC at about noon accompanied by his son, Raymond Dokpesi Jr.  But  Dokpesi’s counsel,, Mike Ozekhome, SAN, said the days of authoritarian rule has returned as only last week, the EFCC invited Daar Communications Holdings, over alleged contracts to the company from the office of the former NSA.
Ozekhome  who said Daar Communications Holdings never got any contract from the office of the NSA, added: “I do not regard this as an arrest.

If you are invited by the EFCC, that is not the same thing as an arrest. We got this information through a mere phone call. There is no warrant of arrest and as a well-respected obedient nationalist, Chief Dokpesi decided to go and answer the invitation.
Although  several calls to the GSM line of  the  EFCC Head of  Media and Publicity, Wilson
Uwujaren,  were unanswered, sources within the commission however said the trios were granted administrative bail  at about 6.00pm.

Bafarawa, it would be recalled, was always in company of  Dasuki, since the  latter’s ordeal started at  the  Federal High Court,  Abuja.
Their arrest followed a directive by President Muhammadu Buhari to the security agencies to arrest Dasuki and all those who allegedly played one role or the other in the  multibillion dollar arms procurement fraud.

The directive followed their indictment by  an interim report of  the 13-man presidential committee set up by Buhari to investigate the procurement of equipment for the Armed Forces  from 2007 to date.
Dasuki is currently standing trial  before Justice Adeniyi Ademola for alleged armed possession. Though  granted bail by the court to travel abroad for medical attention, the DSS  perpetually laid siege to his Asokoro residence, thus restricting his movement.
Deprived of exercising his rights and freedom as granted under the constitution, the retired colonel headed for the court again to enforce his fundamental rights which he was granted, yet the federal government insisted on appealing the bail.

This remained the situation until the   former NSA was picked yesterday by the DSS operatives.
In his reaction to the panel’s  recommendations,  Dasuki said at no time was he invited by any panel to state his own side of the story,   promising however to tell  Nigerians more about the deal when the legal battle  on the matter commences.
The embattled ex-NSA who said he served the nation meritoriously described the panel’s findings as vindictive and mere witch-hunting.
Meanwhile, President of the Senate, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, has dissociated himself from the  arms deal.

Saraki, in a statement by his Special Adviser (Media and Publicity), Mr. Yusuph Olaniyonu, stated that contrary to report published in an online medium, SaharaReporters, he never had anything to do with purchase of security equipment because in his entire political career, he never served in any committee or body which had any link with defence or national security.
He said: “As a member of the Seventh Senate, Dr. Saraki was not a member of any of the committees which have oversight function on the Ministry of Defence or the intelligence and national security apparatus.

“If he was tagged the leader of the opposition to the Jonathan administration, how then will he be privy to arms purchases and have the influence to blackmail any government agency or institution over the release of funds.
“The Senate President would like to alert members of the public to this new plot by this particular online medium, SaharaReporters to tarnish his reputation as the medium and its sponsors pursue the singular objective of removing him from the office of the Senate President, an objective they have since failed to achieve within and outside the National Assembly.”

Continuing, it said: “This time around, SaharaReporters and its sponsors chose to drag the Senate President to this reigning and current issue of arms purchase by insinuating that he once blackmailed
the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to give him and other Senators the sum of N250 million as a way of covering up the arbitrary withdrawal by the NSA from the security fund approved by the former President.

“First, there is no logic in SaharaReporters’ claim as Dr. Saraki who was persecuted by the last administration could not have had the influence and good standing to walk up to the Central Bank to demand for any money having exposed many atrocities of the past administration. Again, on what ground would the Senate President blackmail anyone for N250 million? It must be emphasised here that Dr. Saraki will never engage in any sharp practice or issue which will warrant him to blackmail any individual or government institution.

“Therefore, for record purposes, Dr. Saraki did not collect any money from any official of the CBN in respect of any arms deal. The Senate President also challenge SaharaReporters or any official of the apex bank, Senator, serving or past, who witnessed or participated in any sharing of the alleged money purported to have been received by him, to come out with evidence.

“This same medium had falsely published the data page of a forged passport it purportedly claimed belonged to Saraki. The Home Office in the United Kingdom has since written to confirm that the said passport, does not belong to the Senate President.
“Also, SaharaReporters once claimed that Saraki bribed some judges using a former Chief Justice of Nigeria as a front. The claim has since been proven to be false. Anybody who knows the reputation of the retired Justice in question knows that he cannot be used to pervert the cause of justice.

“The game being played by SaharaReporters and its sponsors is clear. As they have done in previous cases involving the on-going trial of the Senate President at the Code of Conduct Tribunal, they are targeting the Appeal at the Supreme Court coming up on Thursday, December 3rd 2015. They want to prejudice the Supreme Court as they have done when they blackmailed a judge of the Federal High Court to withdraw from the case and also published false reports, which compelled the Court of Appeal to postpone its judgment at the last minute.

“Whatever the motive of SaharaReporters, it is high time we employed the instrument of the law to stop this act of impunity aimed at publishing false reports believing the victims will not go to court or be frustrated by its dubious claims that they are domiciled outside Nigeria.
“We urge all Nigerians and other well-meaning individuals across the globe to ignore this absolutely false claim by SaharaReporters. Like we earlier stated, this false claim shall not go unchallenged. We shall meet in court.

“We have allowed SaharaReporters enough latitude to indulge in their unscrupulous and mischievous method of journalism. However, enough is enough. We have no option than to commence legal action against SaharaReporters in all relevant jurisdictions, particularly on the issue of fake passport, false claim of bribery and the recent one on blackmail, all aimed at tarnishing the image of the Senate President.”