Just in: Metuh invites Jonathan to testify in his case

Olisa Metuh, former Peoples Democratic Party’s National Publicity Secretary, has sought the permission of an Abuja Federal High Court to call ex-President Goodluck Jonathan as a witness in his ongoing trial.

Metuh’s lawyer, Dr. Onyechi Ikpeazu informed the Justice Abang Okon – led court that he has written to Jonathan to that effect but the ex-president was yet to respond.

 According to Ikpeazu, he aimed at applying for subpoena to be issued on the former president just like the defence did on detained former National Security Adviser, NSA, Col Sambo Dasuki(rtd).

He said, “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.

“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).”

 Ikpeazu noted that the former NSA was scheduled to be the next to testify for the defence, but Dasuki was, however, absent in court.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, is holding Metuh for receiving the sum of N400million from the Office of the National Security Adviser, ONSA, without executing any contract in 2015.

The commission claimed that the fund which was released to Metuh and his firm by the former NSA was allegedly part of $2.1billion earmarked for the purchase of arms to fight insurgency in the North East.