The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has debunked a report that a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has struck out a suit of money laundering filed against a former National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, Olisa Metuh.
The PUNCH had reported on Monday, September 26, 2022, that an Abuja Federal High Court struck out a suit filed by the EFCC against the former National Publicity Secretary of the PDP for retrial.
According to The PUNCH, the trial judge at the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, Justice Emeka Nwite, described the seven-count in a suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/05/2022 filed by the EFCC as “an abuse of court process,” adding that “while the matter was pending before the Supreme Court, it was a gross abuse of the court for the commission to have filed the same matter for retrial before him.”
Counsel for the EFCC, Olanrewaju Adeola, had also prayed that rather than striking out the suit, the court (FHC) should adjourn the matter indefinitely pending the hearing and determination of the appeal before the apex court, The PUNCH reports.
Reacting, however, the EFCC in a press statement signed by its Head, Media and Publicity, Wilson Uwujaren, on Tuesday, said the report was “a gross misrepresentation of the status of the case.”
The anti-graft agency said Metuh’s case was before the Supreme Court and not the Federal High Court.
The statement read, “The attention of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has been drawn to some reports in the media, alleging that the Federal High Court, FHC, sitting in Abuja, on Monday, September 26, 2022, struck out a suit filed by the Commission against former National Publicity Secretary of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, Olisa Metuh, for retrial. We wish to state unequivocally that there is no modicum of truth in those reports.
“Metuh’s case is presently pending before the Supreme Court, arising from the appeal by the Commission, as well as his own cross appeal, upon the judgment of the Court of Appeal which nullified the judgment of the trial court on alleged grounds of bias.
“There is, therefore, no pending case before the Federal High Court to warrant striking out of the same.
“It bears reiterating that the EFCC has no fresh application for retrial of Metuh before the court. There can be no striking out of a suit that was not initiated or filed before the court. Any report of striking out of a suit filed by the EFCC on Metuh is a gross misrepresentation of the status of the case and the public is enjoined to ignore such reports.
“The EFCC is awaiting the judgment of the apex court, against the discharge of Metuh, by the Court of Appeal in the N400 million money laundering charges instituted against him. The Commission will do nothing to abuse processes of the court as it remains committed to total respect for the rule of law.”
