Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja has directed the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to conclude, within three days, the long-running corruption trial against former National Security Adviser, Mohammed Sambo Dasuki.

 

The court scheduled July 7, 8, and 9, 2025, for the anti-graft agency to wrap up its prosecution in the case, which has lingered since 2015.

 

This directive followed the restart of the trial in Justice Lifu’s court. During the proceedings, EFCC counsel Oladipupo Okpeseyi and Dasuki’s lawyer, A.A. Usman, debated the admissibility of a subpoena issued on May 24, 2018, to the Department of State Services (DSS). The subpoena requested the DSS to present certain items recovered from Dasuki’s properties.

 

Dasuki’s counsel challenged the subpoena, arguing that the DSS, as named in the document, does not legally exist in Nigerian law. The EFCC, however, countered that the DSS is a statutory body and that there was no ambiguity regarding its identity.

 

“The document was served on the Department of State Security, which had no confusion about its identity or the court’s invitation,” Okpeseyi argued. “Objections on technical grounds should not obstruct the course of justice.”

 

Justice Lifu overruled the objection and admitted the subpoena as evidence, stating that the final ruling on its admissibility would be incorporated into the judgment.

 

He emphasized that the case, now a decade old, must move forward in accordance with the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015, which promotes speedy trials.

 

During the hearing, the first prosecution witness, DSS exhibit keeper Monsur Mohammed, presented several items retrieved from Dasuki’s properties in Abuja and Sokoto based on four search warrants executed in July 2015. However, he confirmed that none of the items were incriminating.

 

Justice Lifu then adjourned the matter to July 7–9, 2025, stressing that the prosecution must close its case within those dates.