A witness in the ongoing legal tussle involving the state vs former governor Murtala Nyako’s Chief Security Officer and retired Assistant Commissioner of Police, Sheriff Rabiu Kukawa has disclosed how the Department of State Security (DSS) was introduced into the suit.
The witness Ali Abdurrahman Mohammed, an investigator with DSS made the statement before a Yola high court 1 presided by acting chief judge of Adamawa state, Justice Hapsat Abdurrahman.
Mohammed told the court that the DSS took over the case after the complainants withdrew it from the police and lodged it with the department.
The investigator who was being cross examined by the counsel to the defendant, Barr. Rowland Charles said following the complaint, the defendant was detained at the DSS facility.
Barrister Rowland Charles noted that ordinarily, the DSS should not have any role to play in a case involving the purchase of a landed property.
The counsel to the defendant then asked the witness whether his organization has invited former governor Murtala Nyako to hear his side of the story which he replied in the negative.
On further cross examination, the counsel asked the witness to state the responsibility of the DSS.
In response, he said the responsibilities of the DSS include detecting and prosecuting any crime against Nigeria, preservation of all non military classified matters pertaining internal security and any other responsibilities as may be directed by the president.
While responding to another query by the defence counsel on whether the president has directed the security outfit to arrest the defendant, the witness said he was not in the know how.
In his testimony earlier on, Mohammed revealed that DSS had on October 29, 2021 recieved a complaint against the defendant detailing how he converted 2 landed properties worth N80 which he purchased in the name of Sebore farms to himself and sold the properties later.
He said the complainant sometimes in 2013 released the sum of N80 million to the defendant to purchase 2 landed properties for Sebore farms but to their chagrin when they sought to sell the property, they discovered that it was already sold out.
They alleged that the defendant has converted the property to himself after he dubiously signed the purchase documents as the managing director of Sebore farms.
Mohammed noted that the defendant using his company Ashraf Nigeria Ltd sold the property out. He also said the defendant has submitted a written statement saying that while serving as the CSO to Nyako two plots were brought for the governor to purchase, he noted that Nyako instructed him to source money to pay for the landed properties.
After the properties were acquired, Nyako further directed him to register them in the name of Sebore farms Nigeria Ltd. He noted that the defendant obliged the request and signed the documents as a buyer and as a witness and deposited the C of O at Zenith Bank in 2014.
After listening to the submissions justice Hapsat Abdulrahman adjourned the case to December 14 2022.
