The Federal High Court in Abuja has found a former spokesperson of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Olisa Metuh, and his company, Destra Investment Ltd, guilty of illegally receiving public funds.
Mr Metuh and his firm were found guilty of receiving N400 million from the Office of the National Security Adviser which he ought to have known to be a proceed of crime.
Mr Metuh is being prosecuted by the anti-graft agency, EFCC, alongside his company, Destra Investment, on an amended seven-count charge of diversion of the money received when Sambo Dasuki was the National Security Adviser.
On February 18, Mr Metuh pleaded not guilty to the amended seven-count charge preferred against him by the EFCC.
The former PDP spokesperson was also accused of transacting with the sum of $2 million without going through a financial institution, in violation of a provision of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act.
It was gathered, in April, how Mr Metuh told the court that the N400 million he is accused of collecting from the federal government was spent on “special national assignment.”
In the judgement, which is currently on, Justice Okon Abang said that “I have my doubts if the first defendant is telling the truth in this matter”.
The judge said that Mr Metuh must have received a bank alert notifying him of the transaction. The prosecution had also tendered the notice of alert (exhibit D28) as evidence before the court.
“It is in my firm view that as at November 24, 2014, the first defendant had actual knowledge of the inflow from ONSA in the account of the second defendant,” the judge held.
“I think the prosecution has proved the ingredients as regards count one.”
“The first defendant is hereby found guilty of count one and accordingly convicted,” Justice Abang ruled.
As at the time of filing this report, the judge is still reviewing submissions of parties in regards to the remaining six counts.
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