Ex-PDP Spokesperson, Olisa Metuh Released After 10 Months In Prison

Tunji Buhari tunji
Tunji Buhari tunji

A  former national publicity secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Olisa Metuh,  has been released from Kuje prison after serving 10 months in jail.

Metuh who left the prison on Thursday was prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission(EFCC) for illegally receiving some monies to the tune of N400 million from the office of the National Security Adviser(NSA), under Colonel Sambo Dasuki.

On February 25, 2020, Justice Okon Abang convicted and sentenced the former PDP spokesman to seven years of imprisonment

Not satisfied with the decision of the court, Metuh approached the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal with an application seeking to set aside the ruling of the lower court.

In his argument, he alleged among others that the trial judge was biased and failed to accord him a fair hearing.

The appellate court  in its ruling agreed with the appellant that the trial judge was exhibited biased and as such quashed the judgment of the Federal High Court.

“The narrative of the trial judge suggest someone who didn’t enjoy trying the appellant and counsel because he said they were picking on him,” Stephen Adah who read the court’s decision, said.

“He was struggling with the case and even wished that he should be recused out of the case. The influence from this narrative is indisputably to say the least that a trial judge was angered only in his mind that he was wrongly influenced and showed bias against the appellant in this case as this is what manifests from all the outburst, he has infused in his judgment.”
However, the EFCC said  after reviewing the judgment,  it would approach the Supreme Court to challenge it .

 

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