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."