$2.1bn arms probe: EFCC ought to have grilled Jonathan, Metuh tells court

The embattled National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Chief Olisa Metuh, Thursday, begged the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja to quash the seven-count criminal charge the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, preferred against him.

Metuh, who was alleged to have received N400million from the erstwhile National Security Adviser, NSA, Col. Sambo Dasuki, rtd, through his company, Destra Investments Limited prior to the 2015 presidential election, contended that the EFCC, failed to nail him to the charge. Instead of opening his defense to the charge as he was earlier directed by trial Justice Okon Abang, Metuh told the trial court that he had decided to file a ‘no-case-submission’. A no-case-submission is an application that is filed by an accused person who is convinced that the prosecution, failed to by way of credible evidence, establish the ingredients of the allegation that is contained in a charge upon which his or her trial is predicated. “In this case, by the evidence of PW-3, who works with ONSA, the NSA is answerable to then President Dr. Goodluck Jonathan only. The PW-5’s evidence that presentation for which money was paid was made to Dr. Jonathan made 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. “Dr. Jonathan to whom the presentation was made for which the payment was made is therefore a material and indispensable 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 unfavorable to the prosecution”, Metuh argued.