A fresh seven-count money laundering charge filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) against former National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Olisa Metuh and his firm, Destra Investment Ltd, has been struck out by a federal high court sitting in Abuja.
Justice Emeka Nwite struck out the lawsuit yesterday, Monday, September 26, after listening to arguments from the prosecution and the defendant’s lawyers.
The judge stated that it was of no use keeping the charge in his court’s docket when the prosecution and defendants have appeals pending at the Supreme Court.
Nwite who described the retention of the charge, marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/05/2022 as “an abuse of court process,” held that there was no way the case could return to his court without the Supreme Court first deciding the appeals by parties in the charge.
Metuh and his company, Destra Investment Limited, were prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for the N400million he allegedly received from the office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) in 2014.
Metuh was arrested in January of 2016 and has made several court appearances since that time.
In February 2020 trial Justice Okon Abang found Metuh’s firm, Destra Investment Ltd, guilty of illegally receiving N400million from Dasuki’s office, prior to the 2015 presidential election, without contract approval or execution.
“I find the defendants guilty in respect of count 1 of the charge and they are accordingly convicted,” Justice Abang pronounced.
“The prosecution had satisfied the requirement and established the ingredients against count one, Metuh should have reasonably known that the money formed part of illegal funds”.
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In a seven-count charge entered before the court, the EFCC had alleged that the N400m was electronically wired from an account that ONSA operated with the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, to Metuh, via account no. 0040437573, which his firm operated with Diamond Bank Plc.
The prosecution also alleged that Metuh was involved in an illicit transaction that involved the exchange of $2million, in violation of extant financial regulations.
Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court in Abuja, on Tuesday, February 2020 sentenced Metuh to 7 years in prison for the money laundering charges against him.
However, the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, on Wednesday, December 16, 2020, nullified the seven-year jail sentence handed him, holding that Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court was biased in handling the case of the former PDP spokesman.
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