A former
publicity secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, Olisa Metuh, insisted on
Tuesday that the N400m he was being prosecuted for before the Federal High
Court in Abuja was paid to him by a former President, Goodluck Jonathan.
Metuh made
the claim in response to the charge that he fraudulently received N400m from
the Office of the National Security Adviser and used it for the PDP’s
presidential media campaigns in the 2015 election.
Metuh,
who began his testimony as the 15th defence witness in 2018, said he had no
doubt the money came from Jonathan whom he said had personally received
contributions for the 2015 presidential campaigns.
He
and his company, Destra Investment Limited, are being prosecuted by the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on seven counts of money laundering,
including allegations that they both fraudulently took the N400m “when they
reasonably ought to know” that the money was part of the proceeds of alleged
criminal act of the then National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki.
Metuh
was also accused of handling $2m cash without going through a financial
institution in violation of a provision of the Money Laundering (Prohibition)
Act.
At
the resumed hearing in the case on Tuesday, Metuh continued with his evidence,
with his counsel, Mr Emeka Etiaba (SAN), leading him.
He
narrated how, in the build-up to the 2015 presidential election, he engaged a
media consultant, Mr Yomi Badejo, with whom he made a presentation at the
Presidential Villa on a media project aimed at boosting the image of the then
Federal Government in terms of the fight against insurgency in the country.
He
said Jonathan who was impressed by the proposal later called him on the
telephone, requesting the cost of the execution of the media project.
According
to him, he later sent the bills to Jonathan, who later informed him that his
account had been credited with the N400m.
Asked
by his lawyer, if he inquired into the source of the money, Metuh, said, “How
can I make an inquiry into the source of the money when I already knew the
source of the money?”
“I
know the money came from the President as the leader of the party and on the
assurance that funds were raised personally by him at that time.
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