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From Godwin Tsa, Abuja
The Abuja division of the Federal High Court has fixed June 22 for the retrial of a former National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Olisa Metuh.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had slammed a seven-count charge against him and his company, Destra Investment Limited.
He was previously convicted and sentenced to seven years imprisonment by Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court. However, his conviction and sentence was overturned by the Court of Appeal on the grounds of lack of fair hearing.
In voiding the judgment, the appellate 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 a unanimous decision by a three-member panel of Justices, the Abuja division of the Court of Appeal 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.
Justice Stephen Adah, who delivered the lead judgment, said he was convinced that Metuh and his firm were denied fair hearing by the trial court.
Giving the above decision of the Court of Appeal, Metuh’s case-file was re-assigned to Justice Emeka Nwite for the defendants to take a fresh plea.
EFCC alleged that he received N400 million 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 $2.1 billion earmarked for the purchase of arms to fight insurgency in the North East.
