N400 Million Fraud: Court to hear EFCC’s case against Metuh June 22

The Court of Appeal had earlier held that the trial by Justice Okon Abang was tainted with bias, and ordered a retrial.

News Agency of Nigeria • May 30, 2022

Olisa Metuh

Abuja Division of the Federal High Court on Monday fixed June 22 to hear a suit filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for the retrial of Olisa Metuh, a former national publicity secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

It was gathered that the court fixed the date following the EFCC’s appeal at the Supreme Court of the judgement delivered by the Court of Appeal in favour of Mr Metuh.

Although the matter was listed on Monday’s cause list, the trial judge, Emeka Nwite, was not in court.

The suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/05/2016 between the Federal Republic of Nigeria Vs. Olisa Metuh and another was listed as number 16 on the cause list.

But due to the judge’s absence, the matter could not go on, and the case was adjourned until June 22.

On February 15, the retrial of the ex-PDP spokesperson was reassigned to Mr Nwite, who was recently transferred to the Abuja division.

Before the reassignment, the matter was before a sister judge, Obiora Egwuatu.

Mr Egwuatu 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.

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-person 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.

Consequently, it voided the conviction and sentence that was handed to Mr Metuh and his firm, Destra Investment Limited. It remitted the case file back to the high court for a retrial by another judge.

Mr Metuh was jailed over an allegation that he received the sum of N400 million from the former National Security Adviser, Col. (retd.) Sambo Dasuki, before the 2015 presidential election, without contract approval or execution.

His earlier conviction followed a seven-count charge that was preferred against him and his firm by the EFCC.

(NAN)

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