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A former National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, Mr. Olisa Metuh, insisted before the Federal High Court in Abuja, on Tuesday, his further testimony in his ongoing trial would be dependent on the appearance of former President Goodluck Jonathan .
His lawyer, Mr. Emeka Etiaba SAN, and the counsel representing his company Destra Investments Limited Mr. Tochukwu Onwugbufor SAN, had earlier said this before the court on Monday. But the trial judge, Justice Okon Abang, had, in a ruling on Monday, dismissed the submission as unknown to law.
The judge maintained his position on Tuesday and ordered Metuh to continue his defence on Wednesday today, while the court bailiff would make another attempt to serve Jonathan on December 11. "Whether a party will call a witness or not cannot be predicated on the evidence of a witness yet to be called,” Justice Abang ruled again on Tuesday. But Etiaba said he would appeal against the judge ’s decisions.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission had alleged in some of the seven counts preferred against Metuh and his company, Destra Investments Limited, that the ex PDP spokesperson fraudulently received the sum of N400m from the Office of the National Security Adviser without any justification.
The EFCC also alleged that Metuh spent the funds on the party and for personal affairs. The accused person was also accused of transacting business with $2m cash said to be above the threshold of cash payments prescribed by the Money Laundering (Prohibition ) Act. But Metuh had insisted that both the then NSA, Sambo Dasuki, who released the sum of N400m and Jonathan, who allegedly authorised the payment, were required to testify in the case.
While the summons served on Dasuki had been successfully executed, following which the ex NSA had testified in the case, the court bailiff had yet to be able to serve Jonathan personally.
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