$2.1bn arms probe: Why Metuh has a case to answer — EFCC

ABUJA — The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has adduced reasons Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja should compel the National Publicity Secretary of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Chief Olisa Metuh, to explain the alleged role he played in the illegal diversion of funds meant for the procurement of arms. MetuhMetuh The anti-graft agency said it had, by preponderance of evidence, established that of about $2.1billion meant for the procurement of arms,
Metuh, through his company, Destra Investment Limited, pocketed N400 million. It said the fund was electronically wired from an account of the Office of the National Security Adviser, ONSA, operated with the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, to Metuh, through account no. 0040437573, which his firm operated with Diamond Bank Plc. Aside the N400 million he got from ONSA, EFCC also alleged that the PDP spokesman received $2 million of $47 million it said former President Goodluck Jonathan shared to chieftains of the party, prior to the 2015 presidential election. The commission said its investigations had revealed that the $47 million was a product of N10 billion the former NSA, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd), withdrew from the CBN and handed over to ex-President Jonathan on November 27, 2014. The fund was allegedly shared by Jonathans Aide-de-Camp, ADC, to PDP members that attended the party’s convention in Abuja. EFCC said it had through oral and documentary evidence that was presented by eight witnesses it brought before the high court, established a prima-facie criminal case to warrant Metuh to enter his defence to the seven-count criminal charge pending against him. Consequently, it urged Justice Abang to dismiss the no-case-submission Metuh filed through a consortium of four Senior Advocates of Nigeria, led by Dr. Onyechi Ikpeazu, SAN. Metuh had in his 31-paged no-case-submission, argued that the prosecution, “did not establish the essential elements of the offences charged”, a situation he said rendered the case against him “manifestly unreliable.” Both Metuh and the EFCC will today adopt their briefs of argument before the high court to enable trial Justice Abang to deliver judgment on the matter.