Peoples Democratic Party Chieftain, Olisa Metuh, has told a Federal High Court
that the EFCC cannot prosecute him without interrogating former President
Goodluck Jonathan in his ongoing trial.
Regarding the source of the N400 million alleged to be part of the
$2.1 billion arms purchase funds, Chief Olisa Metuh, has told
a Federal High Court that the Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission (EFCC) cannot prosecute him without
interrogating former President, Goodluck Jonathan.
The embattled National Publicity Secretary of the
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who has filed a
no case submission asking the court to discharge
him from the 7-count money laundering charge
preferred against him and his company,
Destra Investment Limited, said the Prosecution
Witness evidence presentation for which money
was paid, was made to Jonathan, and makes
the investigation of his role as well as his
evidence vital and indeed crucial without
which no prima facie case can conceivably be said
to have been made out.
Leader of Olisa Metuh’s defence team,
Chief Onyechi Ikpeazu (SAN), said, "Dr. Jonathan,
to whom the presentation was made for which the
payment was made, is therefore a material and
indispensible person in order for a prima facie
case to be present. Where the prosecution failed to
call such a vital witness, a strong presumption will
arise that the evidence, if called, would be unfavourable
to the prosecution."
He argued that the EFCC has not established a
prima facie case against him in line with Sections
302 and 357 of the Administration of Criminal
Justice Act (ACJA) 2015 since the prosecution has
not made such case against him and his company.
Olisa Metuh in handcuff during of his trials
"In any case, the 'mens rea’ of the defendants to the
effect that former NSA, Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd) committed
a criminal offence cannot be inferred, but must be
established by a competent evidence which must
come from the prosecution.
"It is the case of Metuh that no evidence was laid
out by the prosecution that N400 million was the
proceed of alleged criminal conduct committed by
Dasuki, adding that if anything, all the documents
presented by the prosecution in the case only point
out that the former NSA complied with due process and
the contrary has not been pronounced by the court of
competent jurisdiction.
"In this case, by the evidence of PW3 who works in the
Office of the National Security Adviser [ONSA], the NSA
is answerable to the then President Goodluck Jonathan only,"
he said.
Metuh said Section 15 [2] [d] of the ACJA requires the proof
that the money must be proceed of an unlawful act.
"In this case, it has not been established that the defendants
knew that the ONSA engaged in any unlawful acts, adding that
an unlawful act must be an act which is not authorised or
approved and which has been found to be illegal.
"There was no evidence that the defendants were involved
in any forged documents to create a contract where none was
in fact, in existence.
“Pw8, the investigator was emphatic that he found no
relationship of any kind between the defendants and
Col. Sambo Dasuki."
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