Justice Peter Odo Lifu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, has dismissed a fresh application by the Department of State Services (DSS) seeking to re-present previously rejected exhibits in the ongoing trial of former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd).
In a strongly worded ruling delivered on Tuesday, Justice Lifu ruled that the exhibits, which the court had rejected on July 10, 2025, for lack of proper foundation and relevance, “stood and remained rejected.”
“Any attempt to go against that ruling will amount to judicial rascality and pettiness,” the judge said. “Common sense does not even support granting this kind of request. The court rejects the invitation, and the request is hereby dismissed.”
Court Cannot Sit in Appeal Over Its Own Ruling
The judge emphasized that the court is bound by its prior decisions and cannot sit as an appellate body over itself.
“That ruling still subsists, and I am bound by it. Granting the request would amount to judicial rascality and an abuse of process,” Justice Lifu added.
The DSS, through its lead counsel Oladipupo Okpeseyi (SAN), had urged the court during the September 25 sitting to reconsider the exhibits—vehicles allegedly recovered from Dasuki’s residence in 2015—and permit a judicial inspection at the DSS headquarters.
Okpeseyi claimed the exhibits were earlier rejected on procedural grounds, and that the proper legal foundation had now been laid to admit them into evidence.
Dasuki’s Counsel Opposes “Strange” Application
Defense counsel, A.A. Usman, sharply opposed the motion, describing it as “strange and unknown to law.”
“Once an exhibit is rejected, it remains rejected,” Usman argued. “The only lawful option left to the prosecution is to appeal the decision, not seek a re-admission before the same court.”
He labeled the DSS application as “baseless, ill-conceived, and an attempt to draw the hand of the clock backward.”
Background of the Case
Col. Sambo Dasuki, who served as National Security Adviser under former President Goodluck Jonathan, is standing trial for alleged unlawful possession of firearms and other charges.
The 2015 search of his Abuja residence by DSS operatives led to the recovery of multiple vehicles and items, which the prosecution has sought to use as evidence. However, the court had earlier rejected the admission of those items due to procedural flaws in their presentation.
