When former Defense Minister Mohamed Nazim was jailed for the possession of a pistol inside his residence, many had refused to accept this. The charges, investigation and the subsequent trial in Criminal Court were ridiculed by many.
Almost all posed one question: would Nazim really do something like this?
The pistol was discovered at the time when he was one of the star Ministers at the cabinet. His leadership, commitment to his Ministry and the nation was lauded by many. The rise in popularity is always matched by an increase in enemies. The same was true for Nazim. His contenders at that time were the then Tourism Minister Ahmed Adeeb and the then Home Minister Umar Naseer, two of the most influential cabinet Ministers. All three had Presidential aspirations and all came from the same party.
When the case was being tried in the lower Courts, the biggest issue Nazim's defense had raised was that Nazim was framed. It was a mere statement then, with no evidence to back it up. Nazim said that then the former Commissioner of Police Hussain Waheed had framed him. The intention was to bring an abrupt halt to Nazim's political career. At that time, both Adeeb and Hussain Waheed were untouchable, highly influential. Even President Abdullah Yameen had testified to this later on. He himself said that he was astounded that Adeeb had reigned such influence.
When the case went to appeal in High Court, Adeeb had lost his power and influence. He was in jail, on the suspicion that he had tried to assassinate the President. Following the botched assassination plan, which involved blowing up the Presidential speedboat "Finifenmaa", Adeeb was laid bare - his secret dealings and illegal operations came to light. The magnitude of it stunned the entire nation.
While the state was building a case against Adeeb and his close allies, a search was carried out in all islands associated with their various companies. A weapons cache was discovered in B. Himbalhidhoo, similar to the one discovered in Nazim's home. Nazim raised this in High Court. However, High Court decreed that Nazim had not been able to prove that he was framed.
Nazim approached Supreme Court, armed with fresh information. With new evidence. This time they said that they now know the identity of the person who had planted the pistol. Nazim's lawyers said that a Police officer named Asif had smuggled in the pistol to Nazim's home, while it was being searched by the Police.
New allegations had also risen in Supreme Court. Nazim's defense alleged that there was a match in the method used to erase serial numbers from the weapons cache in Himbalhidhoo and the pistol found in Nazim's home.
Nazim's lawyer Husnu Suood last night held a press conference, stating that new information was now available. This time Suood said that Adeeb's DNA was found on the pistol. DNA tests run as part of the lower Court trial had shown that neither Nazim nor his wife Afaaf's DNA was found on the pistol.
Mere hours after Suood made the proclamation, Police had hammered the nail on this. They confirmed this. Police said there was a DNA match to Adeeb, proving that Adeeb had possessed the pistol. Nazim's fingerprints were not on the pistol and when there is a DNA match to Adeeb, it gives credence to the allegation that Nazim was framed.
Suood said that Adeeb was fully aware that the Police was conducting a raid on the residence of the then Defense Minister, prior to the raid. He also said the defense had evidence that Adeeb had contacted journalists informing of the discovery of the pistol in Nazim's residence as well as his arrest and had dispatched journalists to the residence beforehand.
Suood also said that night former CP Hussain Waheed had urgently visited the former PG Muhthaz Muhsin, claiming that Nazim was going to murder him. Suood said this information was supplied to Hussain Waheed by Adeeb. He also said Hussain Waheed, Muhthaz Muhsin and Adeeb had been waiting in a car near Nazim's residence at the time he was arrested.
A special audit of the armory was conducted following the discovery of the pistol. In the hearings held on the case filed against Adeeb over weapons possession, an anonymous witness had given his statement. The witness said that he had received information that weapons were missing from the armory. When he had attempted to investigate the issue, he said he had been warned by Adeeb twice.
Then there is what Umar Naseer said. He said that Adeeb, during his tenure as the Tourism Minister had threatened both him and former Defense Minister Mohamed Nazim of consequences if they had proceeded with their agenda. This gives further support to the fact that Nazim was framed.
Though Nazim had not been able to prove his innocence in Criminal Court, Police now have sufficient proof that implicated the former VP as having framed Nazim. This will become another notch against Adeeb. Adeeb has already been sentenced on two counts. Criminal records against Adeeb outweigh Nazim's.
Based on the tides, it looks like Nazim is marching towards freedom, while Adeeb is marching towards longer extended sentences.
