Metuh wants Jonathan to testify in his trial

Olisa Metuh, former spokesman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has requested that former President Goodluck Jonathan appear as a witness in his trial.

In January 2016, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) filed charges of money laundering against Metuh for allegedly receiving N400m from the office of Sambo Dasuki, former national security adviser (NSA), illegally.

on Monday, Onyechi Ikpeazu, counsel to Metuh, told Okon Abang of the Abuja federal high court that he had written Jonathan to that effect but that the former president was yet to reply.

“We have another witness on subpoena, and at the end of the evidence of this another witness, we will take a decision on whether or not the first defendant (Metuh) will testify,” Ikpeazu said.

“The other witness we want to subpoena is Goodluck Jonathan, former President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“We wrote him a letter but he did not respond and our plan will be to apply for the subpoena after the first application (for subpoena to be issued on Dasuki).”

Earlier, Dasuki through Ahmed Raji, his counsel,  asked Abang to set aside the subpoena served on him to testify for Metuh.

Dasuki said he must be released from the custody of the Department of State Service (DSS) if he is to testify in defence of Metuh.

He said his client had filed an application to that effect on October 20 and that same had been served on all the parties to the case.

Raji also said Dasuki had asked as an alternative prayer in the application, an order of stay of execution of the subpoena served on the detainee pending his release from the custody of the  DSS.

Abang had earlier refused to grant Metuh’s request to sign the subpoena to be served on Dasuki.

But the appeal court in Abuja on September 29 ordered the DSS to produce Dasuki to testify in Metuh’s trial.

Consequently, Abang complied with the order and fixed Tuesday for the hearing of the application, adding that all the parties would respond to the application orally on Tuesday.

He also said Dasuki had been scheduled to appear before the court on Wednesday.