Olisa Metuh has succeeded in praying the Federal High Court in Abuja to order former President Goodluck Jonathan to appear before it to testify as a witness in defence of a former the former PDP publicity secretary.
Metuh’s legal team filed the draft subpoena before Justice Okon Abang shortly after the Monday’s proceedings.
And he signed it
The source, however, indicated that Jonathan’s court appearance on Wednesday would be dependent on whether or not he would be served with the subpoena signed by the judge between Monday and today (Tuesday).
It was learnt that the Abuja home of the ex-President was indicated on the subpoena as his service address.
Metuh, through his lead counsel, Dr. Onyechi Ikpeazu (SAN), told the court on Monday that he would seek to subpoena Jonathan as a witness.
Metuh’s defence witnesses have insisted Jonathan authorised the payment of the N400 million for which the EFCC is prosecuting the PDP scribe.
Ikpeazu said he had written formally to Jonathan notifying him of his intention to have him testify in court but that the former President did not reply to his letter.
The SAN had earlier sought the appearance as a witness of ex-NSA Dasuki Sambo who is the main character of the $2.1 billion arms vote spent on PDP presidential campaign in 2015.
Although Ikpeazu said Dasuki was scheduled to be the next to testify for the defence, the ex-NSA was absent from court on Monday.
Justice Abang said on Monday that Dasuki was scheduled to appear in court on October 25 (Wednesday).
The judge had earlier refused to grant Metuh’s request to sign the subpoena to be served on Dasuki.
But the Court of Appeal in Abuja on September 29 overruled the judge and ordered him to sign the subpoena.
Justice Abang noted on Monday that he had since October 3 complied with the Court of Appeal’s order by signing the subpoena which was said to have been subsequently served on Dasuki in DSS custody.
But Dasuki’s lawyer, Mr. Ahmed Raji (SAN), was in court to oppose the request to compel his client to testify as Metuh’s witness.
Raji told Justice Abang that he had on behalf Dasuki filed a motion on October 20, seeking an order setting aside the subpoena served on the ex-NSA to testify in Metuh’s defence.
Raji said Dasuki had asked an order of stay of execution of the subpoena served on the detainee pending his (Dasuki’s) release from the custody of the DSS.
Justice Abang fixed Tuesday for the hearing of the application.
The Court of Appeal in Abuja had on September 29, ordered the DSS to produce Dasuki before the court in Abuja to enable him to testify as Metuh’s witness.
But Dasuki was said to be unfit, according to an affidavit by his legal team.