Dasukigate: Witness says Metuh was paid for security service as court admits evidence

 The N400 million former NSA Sambo Dasuki paid to PDP’s national publicity secretary, Olisa Metuh, was for security services, a witness, Bali Ndam, told the Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday.

Metuh, a lawyer and biggest stakeholder in Dextra Investment Ltd that received the money, is facing trial for his complicity in the $2.1 billion arms fund misappropriated by the former NSA between 2014 and 2015.

Ndam, a legal adviser to Dasuki, is the third witness of the EFCC prosecuting Metuh. The lawyer was responsible for drafting memos, vetting contracts, among others.

According to the witness, the NSA’s office, on January13 and 14, wrote two letters signed by two people to the commission, giving names of the 78 companies and individuals the office of the NSA gave contracts.

But the counsels to both parties argued over the admissibility of the letters between the NSA office and the EFCC.

Metuh’s counsel, Onyeachi Ikpeazu, told the court that the witness could not present as evidence a document authored by another person, adding that said documents attached to the letter dated January 14, 2016, which were computer-generated, did not meet the provisions of section 84 of the Evidence Act.

Sections 84, sub sections (2) and sub section (4), ‘a’, ‘b’ and ‘c,’ say any such document must be certified as true copy.

According to the lawyer, the document in his possession was “Payment companies with no contract”, while that mentioned by Mr. Ndam was “Payment of contracts without award”.

Ikpeazu thus asked the court to reject the documents.

But the counsel to the EFCC, Sylvanus Tahir, prayed the court to discountenance the request, saying the documents were all public documents, and are all relevant to their arguments.

He also noted that the duplicate documents which needed certification had all been certified.

In his ruling, Justice Okon Abang, overruled Ikpeazu’s objection.
The judge said the documents before the court did not require certification. And that the witness misread the names of the signatories would not affect the contents of the correspondence.

Abang also ruled that the documents be marked Exhibits A, B, and C.

He also said the fact that the witness misread the name of the document, did not affect its content.

The case was adjourned to Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Metuh, who has been coming from the Kuje prison, has yet to meet the bail terms of N400 million, two sureties in like sum, with properties in Abuja.