Court dismisses criminal charges against Olisa Metuh

Embattled former National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Olisa Metuh has been cleared of the seven-count criminal charge preferred against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Delivering judgement on Monday, a Federal High Court (FHC), Abuja, on Monday, struck out the suit for retrial on the charges.

Justice Emeka Nwite, in a ruling, described the seven-count criminal charge in a suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/05/2022 filed by the EFCC, as “an abuse of court process.”

The anti-graft agency had filed the suit before Nwite for the retrial of Metuh (1st defendant) and his company, Destra Investments Ltd, listed as the 2nd defendant in the case.

Justice White held that he aligned with the arguments of counsel for Metuh, Afam Osigwe, SAN, and lawyer to his company, Tochukwu Onwugbufor, SAN, that while the matter was pending before the Supreme Court, it was a gross abuse of the court for the commission to have filed the same matter for retrial before him.

However, at the resumed hearing, Justice White asked counsel for the EFCC, Olanrewaju Adeola, about the current position of the matter.

Adeola informed that Metuh was convicted by the trial court and went to the Court of Appeal where the decision of the lower court was overturned.

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“We challenged the decision of the Appeal Court. We understand that the matter was listed this morning at the instance of the defendant for application for his international passport,” he said.

Responding, Osigwe said that Metuh got information about the matter at the FHC on social media and that this matter would commence.

He, however, said that he had earlier discussed with the EFCC lawyer the current position of the matter, “because there is a pending appeal at the Supreme Court in suit number: SC/ CR/583/2021 between FG Vs. Olisa Metuh and another.

Onwugbufor, who spoke in the same vein, said he filed a motion; a written application before the court to clear any doubt about the position of the suit.

“The application is dated Sept. 20, 2022, and filed on Sept. 22, 2022,” he said.

He said after the appeal by Metuh and his company at the Court of Appeal, it was decided that the judgment of the FHC was a nullity and ordered a new trial.

He said besides the prosecution which appealed against that judgment at the Supreme Court, Metuh and his company also appealed against the said Appeal Court judgment.

The senior lawyer said that the anti-corruption agency approached the apex court on the ground that the Appeal Court did not determine the whole appeal.

In his ruling, the judge said after listening to the submissions of the counsel in the suit, there was no way the matter could come back to his court without resolving the issues before the Supreme Court.

“I agree with the argument of the 1st defendant concurred by the 2nd defendant that it is an abuse of the court process and I so hold,” he said.

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He then struck the suit out for being an abuse of court process.

The court had ordered in June 2022 that hearing notices of the next adjourned date fixed for today (Sept. 26) be served on Metuh, who was not in court and counsel for the EFCC.

The court had, on May 30, fixed June 22 for the mention of the matter due to the absence of the judge in court.

Besides, the case was fixed for mention following the EFCC’s appeal at the Supreme Court of the judgment delivered by the Court of Appeal in favor of Metuh, it was reliably gathered.

On Feb. 15 that the retrial of the ex-PDP spokesman was reassigned to White, who was recently transferred to the Abuja division.

Before the reassignment, the matter, with suit number FHC/ABJ/CR/05/2016 between the Federal Republic of Nigeria Vs. Olisa Metuh and another, was before a sister judge, Obiora Egwuatu.