Olisa Metuh Charged For ‘Destroying Own Confessional Statement’, Sent Back To Prison

The Economic andå Financial Crimes Commission on Thursday morning slammed a fresh two-count charge on the spokesman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Olisa Metuh, over an alleged attempt by the politician to destroy a confessional statement made to its operatives.

The new charges came less than 48 hours after the Federal High Court, Abuja, granted him bail over a seven-count charge of corruption.

The EFCC drove the embattled politician into the premises of the FCT High Court on Thursday morning, preparatory to slamming fresh charges on him.

Like on Tuesday, Mr. Metuh was in handcuffs when he was brought into the court.

The handcuffs were later removed as he waited to be taken before a judge.

He was later brought before Justice Ishaq Bello, and accused of attempting to destroy information provided during his cross examination at the office of the EFCC.

Count one of the charge contains allegation of destruction of a statement he had given at the commission, to prevent it from being produced, while count two of the charge revolves around allegations of mischief, all punishable under section 327 of the Penal Code Act.

After pleading not guilty to the said charges, counsel to the EFCC, Sylvanus Tahir, asked for more time to allow his team present witnesses and evidence in support of the allegations against the politician.

Justice Bello, who is the chief judge of the FCT High Court, noted that the EFCC must produce three witnesses during the next sitting, without fail.

He noted that it was needless to have the case brought before him if it was already ongoing at a Federal High Court.

But EFCC counsel, Mr. Sylvanus, explained that the new charges, filed on January 18, were not the same as those currently being heard at the Federal High Court.

The matter was adjourned till January 25, for hearing of an application for bail, while information would be relayed later on whether or not the substantive suit would be heard Friday.
Mr. Metuh was also asked to return to Kuje Prison.

The EFCC had on January 12 accused Mr. Metuh of shredding a confessional statement he made to its operatives, indicating it would charge him separately for attempting to destroy a major evidence in the case against him.

“The tearing of statement is tantamount to willful destruction of government property and it is a serious offence,” the official had told this newspaper at the time. “Also the fact that he obstructed operatives from performing their job is also a criminal offence. We will explore the possibility of filling a separate charge against him at the Federal Capital Territory High Court.”

In the original case for which he is standing trial at the Federal High Court, Mr. Metuh is facing a seven-count charge of corruption.

He is accused of receiving N400 million from former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki. The amount is part of the allegedly diverted sum of $2.1 billion meant for the purchase of arms.

On Tuesday, Justice Okon Abang granted him bail.

To regain his freedom, however, Mr. Metuh, Justice Abang said, must deposit N400 million bail bond – same amount he is accused of illegally receiving; two sureties who must have properties in Maitama area of Abuja, and who must also deposit N200 million each.

It is unclear whether Mr. Metuh met those bail conditions.

Source: Sahara Reporters

EFCC chief Magu: more looters will go to prison

Magu at The Nation...yesterday PHOTO: ABIODUN WILLIAMS

Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Acting Chairman Ibrahim Mustafa Magu spoke yesterday on the fight against corruption, saying it will be unsparing.

Besides, the EFCC boss agreed that the rate of convictions in corruption cases may be low, but he is sure that more looters will go to jail this year.

The anti-graft czar, fondly called The General, said every stakeholder seems to be more serious about fighting corruption. “From all indications, the judges are more serious, everybody is cooperating and this year, we will see more politically-exposed persons convicted. We will flush out corrupt people.”

He assured all that the process will be transparent.  He also promised to discharge his responsibility “with the fear of God, in the national interest, and strictly observing the rule of law.”

Magu, who spoke during a visit to  The Nation’s headquarters in Lagos, said he had been trying to mobilise Nigerians as stakeholders in the fight against corruption.

The EFCC boss praised the management and editorial team of The Nation, saying the paper has come to stay among the builders and molders’ of the nation.  “Within a space of nine years, your brand has joined the league of shapers of our society by your incisive and, sometimes, explosive reporting. I must say that as an agency which believes in vigorous expression of its mandate, the EFCC is at home with your style of reporting and the candour of your esteemed columnists,” he said.

Magu said he was mobilising support, opinions, ideas and strategies that are necessary to strengthen the anti-graft battle.

“We need more support; it is about Nigeria, not an individual, the fight is for everybody, from the media we have to go to the grassroots, we will take it to children in the schools; we have to tell the children that corruption is bad, tell them why there is no chair in the classroom.

“We will sensitise everybody to the evil of corruption. We need to let people know that corruption is bad because some people don’t seem to know,” Magu said.

In his view, corruption is an attack on Nigeria and a “deliberate and calculated wickedness” against the nation’s existence. He decried the impunity with which public servants helped themselves to the commonwealth of Nigerians.

“The impunity is too much. Sometimes I shed tears in the morning before I go to the office. It is just unbelievable; the rot is terrible. What I am saying is that people who know they have stolen our commonwealth should bring it back,” the EFCC chief said, adding:

“People arrogate things to themselves. They have taken our money and are bold enough to say they are not going to return it. The money belongs to the people; they should return the money quietly; let there be voluntary compliance. Let them voluntarily come out to say ‘this is what I have stolen’ and the government will take it. I think that is the best thing to do.”

Magu commented on the handcuffing of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) spokesperson Olisa Metuh when he appeared in court, saying, there is nothing wrong in handcuffing an accused. “It is not coming from us(Nigerian Prisons Service —NPS— brought Metuh to court), but there is nothing wrong with that actually. They have a right to use their discretion; you are not there, there must be reason. There are instances when you handcuff a suspect, but let them explain themselves.”

He said the Commission was receiving renewed interest and cooperation from foreign agencies and there will be no hiding place for treasury looters.

He said the EFCC was building a strong institution with enhanced capacity for the staff but will require more funding. “The people need their capacity to be enhanced; they need funding. We are still renting offices all over the country. There is one massive building of the EFCC that has not advanced because of funding. If we go into that place, we are going to have security of documents, evidences and witnesses. The staff will be better protected. This is the kind of intervention that we are asking the Nigerian people.”

Magu said there will be need for new laws tailored for fighting corruption. “It is important for the lawmakers to be put on the hot seat. If you make one law for the person who steals a goat to go to jail for 11 years and somebody who with pen and paper commits money laundering of over N5 billion for minor years, it is not proper.”

To him, what is seen as the low rate of conviction in corruption-related cases is not the EFCC’s problem.

Magu said: “It is not the job of the EFCC to convict people. The EFCC hands of after taking them to court with evidence and witnesses. But, they know how to drag this thing. After six, seven or 10 years’ witnesses die, you can no longer call for evidence and Nigerians are saying EFCC has not convicted this or that. So, we need to refocus and make new laws that will channel our activities properly.”

Source: The Nation

Olubadan of Ibadan is dead?

The Olubadan of Ibadan land, Oba Samuel Odulana Odugade 1, is dead.

The monarch, who attained the age of 100 years in 2014, passed away Tuesday evening after he reportedly lost consciousness.

The Nation reliably gathered last night that the monarch’s corpse has been taken to a morgue as at press time.

Other details about Oba Odulana’s death were sketchy as at press time.

When contacted, one of his sons, Prof. Femi Lana, declined comments on the incident.

The Personal Assistant to the late monarch, Chief Isiaka Akinpelu, however denied the death, saying it was a rumour. He said Oba Odulana still ate yesterday, adding that he was hale and hearty.

His death will throw the city into mourning after brouhaha over promotion of nine high chiefs on January 1 which pitted the Olubadan-In-Council against the state government.

Oba Odulana mounted the throne in 2007 as the 39th Olubadan of Ibadan land. He was the 17th Olubadan since the title was elevated from Baale Ibadan to the Olubadan in 1930. The first traditional ruler to bear the new title was Oba Okunola Abass who reigned from 1930-1946.

Next in line to the throne is the Balogun of Ibadan land, High Chief Saliu A.O. Adetunji.

Source: The Nation

#Dasukigate: Northern Lawmaker Recommends Amputation, Hanging For Corrupt Government Officials

Member, House of Representatives, Chikun/Kajuru federal constituency of Kaduna State, under Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Umar Yakubu Barde, has advocated for the amputation of the hands of those who have looted public funds in the country.

He said those who stole millions of naira should have their hands amputated, while those who have looted in the billions of naira should be hanged to death.

Speaking yesterday at a press conference with Kaduna State chapter of correspondents chapel of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Barde said some members of the lower chamber who are of like mind are already looking at the possibility of putting such a law in place to make it legal.

To this end, the lawmaker called for a special court rather than the conventional court to try and sentence looters of public monies to the prescribed capital punishment.

He said “I am a believer in the fact that people should be punished for whatever offence they commit. And I am also of the belief that punishment should also be segregated according to the offence. At least your punishment should be commensurate with what you have done.

“For me, if someone steals from N1 million to N100 million, they should cut his hands. There is nothing wrong with that, so that when we see him, we will know yes, he stole. And those that steal billions upward should be hanged and their property confiscated.

“You can imagine this issue of arms deal. If you knew this money was meant for the procurement of arms, weapons, (consider) if you have a brother in the Army, he is sent to the war front and because his weapons are archaic and he is killed. Do you now want to have sympathy for someone who knows that the money was meant for arms and he pocketed it? It is so painful, we have lost loved ones.

“If I am a judge and such a person is brought before me, I will confisticate his property and make sure he is killed also. Because he bears fault in the blood of the people killed in the war front.

“We are living in a very funny country where people steal N1,000 and they are put in jail for years. And where some people will steal billions and use that same billion to escape justice. That is not good enough.

“If you look at the quantum of corruption in the country today, we are just talking about Dasukigate, and look at the quantum of money and the number of people that are involved. You have not gone to the ministries yet. You have not even gone to the states and it is only ICPC and EFCC that are to do all these jobs.

“If we are fair to ourselves, the work is overwhelming. And you know, people will want to use the legal system to delay Justice, and that is what is happening today. So, why don’t we have dedicated courts to handle all these corruption cases, so that justice could be dispensed quickly?

“I am aware of former Governors who have cases with the EFCC and they have not gone to court for the past eight years. So, this does not encourage the young people. It rather encourages them to steal.

“So, I think we need to put our heads together because corruption, like hunger, does not know party, it does not know tribe of religion. We must as Nigerians take a very bold stand.”

Source: (Noah Ebije, SUN NEWS ONLINE)

DasukiGate: Ali Baba speaks.....

All of you that are shouting: "The constitution says You can not hold someone longer than 48 hours", 

what part of that same constitution said you can steal our national wealth, share it amongst party cronies and let our soldiers die in unserviceable aircrafts, send our brave soldiers to fight against sophisticated weapons, while the people you are quoting rule of law for were busy, buying private jets, living like lords, buying properties overseas and using the money meant to protect the country to prosecute an election." 

And to think that the mass sharing was from monies recovered from past looting!! So if they let everyone go, would that money had come back in the first place for you to share? Sometimes, one wonders whether some of us think things through before saying them.

Until something affects us directly in Nigeria, people think and believe it has nothing to do with them. Hashtag "e no consign me". 

Think about it, now that these monies that were STOLEN BY SOME PDP bigwigs were not directly (and I mean that as, you do not have access to it, and can't draw on it) it looks like it does not concern us. 

Okay, let me flip the script, if the money were your deposits and life savings in a bank, and the MD and his friends shared it. And Buhari is trying to get them to return all of it, which of the excuses that have been put up for why some of them got a slice of the loot, will make you say, "you can't hold anyone for more than 48 hours" "It's an affront on democracy" "Buhari is a dictator". By now all the known houses of the directors of the bank will be up in flames. All their billboards will be history. 

No staff will want to be caught going to work in the bank's official cars. By now the queue in front of the bank and the crowd at entrance of the court where the bank officials are being tried will be beyond control. 

Ordinary estate association, when money is budgeted for fixing security issues of the estate, fumigation and general cleaning of the common areas, woe betide the financial secretary, if after 2 months, nothing was done. And in that time, robberies took place, rats had unprotected sex, epidemic, overgrown bushes in the common area... 

And in the next meeting you hear, "Chairman asked me to give Mr LABINJO 3m, Ms Sade had cash issues we gave her 2m, we dashed Mr & Mrs Osagie 1m for their wedding. Oh, my son needed a car, so We agreed to give him 4m, and it even a Tokunbo car o..." The committee will be impeached that day! 

But hey what is 2.5b dollars? Please let them go. Is that why we voted you in? Who is not corrupt? We are in a democracy ooo! Nonsense! What were we in when they shared money meant for waging war? And the soldiers were not being paid. So the soldiers bore it till they couldn't any longer, so they protested. You sentenced them to life for mutiny. While PDP was sharing their monies and living large, they were dying to protect us. Come to think of it, what happened to the guy that chopped Pension Funds? HABA!

Via IG: @alibabagcfr

Olisa Metuh Granted N400 Million Bail

The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja granted Olisa Metuh, the Publicity Secretary for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), a N400 million bail today. Mr. Metuh is accused of receiving N400 million in money stolen by the former National Security Adviser (NSA) Sambo Dasuki.

Also read: PDP Spokesman Olisa Metuh Handcuffed from Kuje Prison to Court - http://bit.ly/1nvTT6M

It has been learned that Mr. Dasuki illegally diverted $2.1 billion, much of which was used during the re-election campaign of the former President Goodluck Jonathan. Investigations into Mr. Dasuki’s illegal activity has implicated numerous top political and military leaders in Nigeria, including Mr. Metuh.

Mr. Metuh has also been ordered to surrender his international passport and provide two sureties (N200 million each) with properties in the Maitama district in Abuja. It will be recalled that SaharaReporters revealed that Mr. Metuh was planning to escape to the Caribbean island nation of St. Kitts and Nevis, where he had obtained citizenship following a sizable financial investment on his part.

Mr. Metuh was seen being escorted to court by law enforcement officials on Tuesday wearing handcuffs.  He was previously in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and remanded to Kuje Prison in Abuja.

Source: Sahara Reporters

PDP National Publicity Secretary Olisa Metuh Handcuffed From Kuje Prison To Court

The embattled National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Olisa Metuh was brought to the Federal High Court Abuja by the officials of Nigerian Prison Service in a handcuff in his hand amid tight security.

Metuh, who was sent to the prison by the court last week, was in court to push argument for the written bail application which the court directed him to file last week. 

The court equally asked the prosecution counsel to respond to the application accordingly. Metuh’s fate will be decided today as to whether he returns to Kuje prison custody over allegations that he defrauded the Nigerian state of N400 million.  

Source: Sahara Reporters