Former President, Goodluck Jonathan, in a motion filed through his counsel, Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN), has requested Justice Okon Abang to set aside the subpoena issued to him last week to testify in defence of former National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples’ Democratic Party, Olisa Metuh.
The ex-President further requested Justice Okon Abang to direct Metuh to deposit the sum of N1bn in line with provisions of Section 241(2) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2005;
“where the prosecutor is not a public officer, the person to whom the summon is addressed is not bound to attend unless his travelling expenses are paid to him”.
In the same motion, Jonathan said when he was the President; he appointed Ministers and appointees to carry out the day to day running of Government activities and such appointees are those who related with him directly, and not third parties such as Olisa Metuh.
He stated that it is only such appointees that can explain the daily Government transactions they supervised, and not the President who was the ‘overall boss’. He added that Olisa Metuh was never a personal aide or an appointee of his government.
He also explained that he (Jonathan) knows nothing about the seven charges, for which Olisa Metuh is standing trial before the court, adding that he has absolutely nothing to testify about before the court.
Meanwhile the detained former National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki last week through his lawyer Ahmed Raji (SAN), also asked the court to decline the subpoena.
He added that he was already labelled as an accomplice to the defendant, stating also that his state of mind was currently in turmoil, as a result of the protracted unlawful detention by the Department of State House, (DSS). The Federal High Court however, declined to vacate the subpoena issued him.
Olisa Metuh is facing a seven count charge by the EFCC, including money laundering, mismanagement of funds amongst others.
The EFCC is prosecuting the defendant over the allegation that he received N400m from the Office of the NSA before the 2015 general elections without executing any project, on the order of the then President, Goodluck Jonathan.
It was alleged that the N400m was part of the $2.1bn allotted for the purchase of arms to fight insurgency in the North-East.
Olisa Metuh had earlier described the former President, Goodluck Jonathan and the former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki as his very important and crucial witnesses.
