The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, on Tuesday, fixed February 25, 2020, to deliver judgement on the money laundering charge, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, preferred against former National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Chief Olisa Metuh.
Metuh is facing trial alongside his firm, Destra Investment Ltd, for allegedly receiving N400million from the Office of the National Security Adviser, ONSA, prior to the 2015 presidential election, without contract approval or execution.
Trial Justice Okon Abang adjourned the matter for judgement after all the parties adopted their final briefs of argument.
While the EFCC, through its lawyer, Mr Sylvanus Tahir, urged the court to uphold its case, convict and sentence the defendants accordingly, Metuh and his firm, through their lawyers, Abel Ozioko and Tochukwu Onwugbufor, SAN, respectively, prayed to be discharged and acquitted.
They contended that the anti-graft agency failed to establish a prima-facie criminal case that could warrant a conviction in the matter.
EFCC had in April 2016, closed its case after it produced a total of eight witnesses that testified against the defendants.
Whereas Metuh called 15 witnesses to establish his innocence to the charge, his firm called a lone witness to testify on its behalf.
EFCC had in a seven-count charge it entered before the court, alleged that the N400m was electronically wired from an account that ONSA operated with the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, to Metuh, via account no. 0040437573, which his firm operated with Diamond Bank Plc.
It told the court that the fund which was released to Metuh and his firm by detained former NSA, Col. Sambo Dasuki, retd, was part of about $2.1billion earmarked for the purchase of arms to fight insurgency in the North East.
Besides, the prosecution alleged that Metuh was involved in an illicit transaction that involved the exchange of $2million, in violation of extant financial regulations.
However, Metuh denied all the allegations against him, lamenting that President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration was determined to jail him at all cost.
He told the court that his trial was a calculated attempt by the ruling APC to silence him from criticizing President Buhari’s dictatorial tendencies.
The erstwhile PDP spokesman told the court that top APC members had prior to the time the EFCC arrested and subsequently charged him for fraud, tried to dissuade him from attacking President Buhari in the media.
Metuh told the court that some of the APC members, met him on several occasions in Dubai, Switzerland and Paris to discuss possible roles they could play to strengthen the PDP to wrestle power from President Buhari.
He said the top APC members, who he did not disclose their identities, equally complained of President Buhari’s governance style, saying they had lost confidence in his administration.
Metuh said after he refused to soft-pedal on his criticisms, he started receiving warnings to be cautious of possible attack and a judicial witch-hunt.
More so, he told the court that the N400m in question was duly approved by ex-President Goodluck Jonathan and was used for “special assignment” it was earmarked for.
