The N400 million fraud case against Olisa Metuh, a former national publicity secretary of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has been reassigned to a new judge.

Justice Obiora Egwatu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, had fixed October 14, 2021, for Mr Metuh’s re-arraignment after the Court of Appeal’s decision which nullified the trial court’s judgement.

But on the adjourned date, Mr Egwuatu was not in court, as he was said to have gone for a judges’ seminar in Lagos.

The court, therefore, fixed February 15 for the retrial of the former PDP spokesman.

A check at Court 9 on Tuesday, where the matter was expected to take place, showed that the case between the federal government and Mr Metuh was not on the cause list.

It was learnt that the matter, which was yet to commence before Mr Egwuatu, had been reassigned to Justice Emeka Nwite, the new judge recently transferred to Abuja division after the retirement of Justice Anwuli Chikere.

But when journalists visited Court 8, the chamber of Justice Nwite, though he did not sit, a check on the cause list for Tuesday, indicated that Mr Metuh’s matter was also not on the cause list.

It was, however, gathered at Court 8 that the deputy chief registrar of FHC had informed that many case files would be transferred to Mr Nwite’s court.

The Court of Appeal, Abuja had, on December 16, 2020, nullified a Federal High Court judgement that convicted and sentenced Mr Metuh to seven years imprisonment for money laundering.

In a unanimous decision, a three-man panel of Justices of the appellate court held that the judgement of the trial judge, Okon Abang, delivered against Mr Metuh on February 25, 2020, was tainted with bias.

(NAN)