The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, on Monday, struck out money laundering charge the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, preferred against a former National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Olisa Metuh.
The court, in a ruling that was delivered by Justice Emeka Nwite, held that the fresh charge the EFCC brought against Metuh, amounted to an abuse of the judicial process.
Justice Nwite held that it was not in dispute that the anti-graft agency had already gone to the Supreme Court to challenge the judgement of the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal that ordered Metuh’s retrial.
He stressed that since the matter is already before the apex court at the instance of the EFCC, it was wrong for the agency to re-approach the trial court with a fresh charge.
“It is uncalled for, for the Prosecution to bring a fresh charge when the other charge is still pending. The action is in gross abuse of the court process.
“Consequently, the charge is hereby struck out for constituting an abuse of the court process”, Justice Nwite held.
The ruling came after the court entertained arguments from all the parties in the matter.
Whereas, Metuh, through his lawyer, Mr. Afam Osigwe, SAN, challenged the legal propriety of the fresh charge against him and urged the court to strike it out, the EFCC, through its own lawyer, Olanrewaju Adeola, prayed the court to adjourn the case sine-die (indefinitely), to await the outcome of the appeal before the Supreme Court.
Osigwe, SAN, had argued that the EFCC had in its appeal, urged the Supreme Court to either remit the case back to the Court of Appeal, or to in the alternative, invoke its original jurisdiction to hear and affirm trial court judgement that initially convicted his client.
He maintained that going by reliefs the prosecution is seeking before the apex court, the matter, will not return back to the trial court.
“From issues set out at the Supreme Court, there is no way the matter will come back to this Court.
“Their application is for the matter to either be returned to the Court of Appeal or for the matter to be heard by the Supreme Court.
“The appropriate action is for this court to strike out the matter, while the Supreme Court decides on the appeal before it”, Osigwe submitted.
Counsel that represented Metuh’s company, Destra Investment Limited, Chief Tochukwu Onwugbufor, SAN, equally adopted Osigwe’s argument and urged the court to strike out the charge, a request that was acceded to by Justice Nwite.
It will be recalled that Metuh was previously convicted and sentenced to seven years imprisonment following a seven-count money laundering charge the anti-graft agency preferred against him and his firm.
However, the Court of Appeal, in a judgement it delivered on December 16, 2020, nullified his conviction.
The appellate court, in a unanimous decision by a three-man panel of Justices, held that the verdict of trial Justice Okon Abang, which found both Metuh and his firm guilty, was tainted with bias.
The appellate court held that the trial Judge made disparaging remarks in the judgement that betrayed his premeditated mindset against the Defendants, whom he accused of writing various petitions against him.
In its lead verdict that was delivered by Justice Stephen Adah, the appellate court said it was convinced that Metuh and his firm were denied fair hearing by the trial court.
Therefore, the appellate court, voided the trial court’s judgement and ordered that the case-file against the defendants be remitted back to the Chief Judge of the High Court to be reassigned to another judge for a re-trial.
In line with the order of the Court of Appeal, Metuh’s case-file was re-assigned to Justice Emeka Nwite for the defendants to take a fresh plea on the old charge.
Metuh was initially arraigned on January 15, 2016, and subsequently re-arraigned on February 18, same year, on an amended seven-count charge.
EFCC alleged that he received N400million from the Office of the National Security Adviser, ONSA, prior to the 2015 presidential election, without executing any contract.
The anti-graft agency alleged that the fund 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.
It told the court that the fund which was released to Metuh and his firm by detained former NSA, Col. Sambo Dasuki, retd, was part of about $2.1billion earmarked for the purchase of arms to fight insurgency in the North East.
Besides, the prosecution which earlier closed its case after it called eight witnesses that testified before the court, equally alleged that Metuh was involved in an illicit transaction that involved the exchange of $2million.
In the judgement he delivered on February 25, 2020, Justice Abang said he was satisfied that EFCC successfully proved all the allegations.
In his sentence, Justice Abang handed Metuh seven years on counts 1, 2, 4 and 7 of the charge, five years on count 3 and three years on count 5 and 6.
He also ordered Metuh to pay a total sum of N375million to the coffers of the Federal Government, while the firm was ordered to pay N25m with respect to both counts 5 and 6 of the charge.
Justice Abang directed that the firm should be wound up with all funds standing to its credit forfeited to the government.
He held that the sentence should run concurrently starting from the day of the judgement, a decision that was eventually voided by the Court of Appeal.
Dissatisfied with the judgement, the EFCC went to the Court of Appeal and later to the Supreme Court to challenge the order for retrial of the defendants.
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