{"id":60003,"date":"2017-10-26T18:24:22","date_gmt":"2017-10-26T17:24:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?p=60003"},"modified":"2017-10-26T18:24:22","modified_gmt":"2017-10-26T17:24:22","slug":"will-never-connive-anyone-jonathan-metuh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/exclusive\/will-never-connive-anyone-jonathan-metuh\/","title":{"rendered":"I will Never Connive With Anyone Against Jonathan-Metuh"},"content":{"rendered":"
Former spokesman of the People\u2019s Democratic Party (PDP) has said his request that ex-President Goodluck Jonathan be compelled to testify as defence witness in his trial was not intended to humiliate Jonathan.<\/div>\n
Metuh said his choice of Jonathan as a witness, was for the ex-President to corroborate his argument that he was innocent of all allegations against him in the charges on which he was being tried.<\/div>\n
He denied allegation by a group \u2013 Save Ijaw Nation Group \u2013 that the subpoena issued on Jonathan was part of a plot to let him (Metuh) off the hook.<\/div>\n
Metuh, in a statement issued\u00a0Thursday<\/span><\/span>, said he has no reason to connive with anyone to embarrass Jonathan or seek to be let of the hook, because he was not in any hook, and was innocent of all allegations against him.<\/div>\n
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is prosecuting Metuh and his company, Destra Investments Limited, before the Federal High Court, Abuja, on a seven-count charge of money laundering involving alleged cash transaction of $2m and fraudulent receipt of N400m meant for procurement of arms from the Office of the NSA.<\/div>\n
The EFCC alleged that Metuh and his firm used the N400m for PDP\u2019s campaign activities during the 2015 presidential election.<\/div>\n
N400m was alleged to be \u201cpart of the proceeds of an unlawful activities\u201d of former National Security Adviser (NSA), Mohammed Dasuki.<\/div>\n
But, Metuh has consistently denied knowing that the N400m was paid into his account from the office of the NSA. He has insisted that the N400m\u200e was paid to his company\u2019s account by Jonathan for a public relations campaign for his (Jonathan\u2019s) government.<\/div>\n
Metuh, who is currently conducting his defence in the case, applied to the court to issue supoena on Jonathan and Dasuki to compel them to testify as his witnesses in the trial.<\/div>\n
The ex-PDP spokesman said his lawyer had written the duo, who allegedly failed to respond to their letters, a development that informed his decision to apply for the issuance of subpoena on the two.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Based on Metuh\u2019s request, the trial judge, Justice Okon Abang signed the witness summons issued on Jonathan and Dasuki.<\/div>\n
Both men were absent in court\u00a0on Wednesday<\/span><\/span>. The court found out that Jonathan has not been served with the subpoena and that although, Dasuki was served, the Department of State Services (DSS) failed to produce him in court.<\/div>\n
While adjourning the case on October 25, Justice Abang gave the court\u2019s bailiff five days to efffect personal service on Jonathan, failing which he should be served through substituted means.<\/div>\n
On Dasuki, the judge ordered the EFCC to explore administrative means, to ensure that DSS produce Dasuki on the next date of\u00a0October 31<\/span><\/span>.<\/div>\n
In his statement issued yesterday, Metuh said: \u201cMy attention has been drawn to a release by the Save Ijaw Nation Group wherein they alleged that the order given by the court in my trial was negotiated by me as a means of letting me \u2018off the hook.\u2019<\/div>\n
\u201cThey also stated that I surrendered myself to be used to drag down former President Goodluck Jonathan and impugn on his character and person.<\/div>\n
\u201cIn the light of this and in deference to the former President, I have elected to make these clarifications personally.<\/div>\n
\u201cFirst of all, I state unequivocally that I am completely innocent of the charge against me and therefore have no reason to negotiate with anybody to let me off a non-existent hook.<\/div>\n
\u201cIt is therefore inconceivable and completely ridiculous for anybody to think that I would for any reason betray or surrender myself to be used against President Goodluck Jonathan, for whom I have immense respect and served diligently, without any apologies, in and out of office.<\/div>\n
\u201cTo what end will I conspire with the same set of people, who singled me out to be humiliated and openly handcuffed, while spreading all manner of malicious stories against me, most of which they even denied outright in court while others remain completely unsubstantiated?<\/div>\n
\u201cOrdinarily, the content of the charge against me in the Federal High Court should not breed any worries but for the fact that it now appears that the anti-corruption fight has shifted the burden of proof to a defendant once an allegation is made.<\/div>\n
\u201cOn the issue of conniving with the government against former President Goodluck Jonathan, the Save Ijaw Nation Group may be alarmed by successive media reports that he was ordered to be served\u00a0on Tuesday<\/span><\/span>\u00a0with an instruction to appear the following day and subsequently given a five-day time limit; setting off a media frenzy as if the former president is needed for reasons more than a mere request by my lawyers for a corroborative evidence in my case.<\/div>\n
\u201cI totally concede that this is not deserving of the status, person and image of the former President especially with his contribution and sacrifices to national development and sustenance of democracy in our dear country.<\/div>\n
\u201cWithout prejudice to all the foregoing, I accept that it was the need for corroboration of lack of mens rea on my part that led my lawyers to request for the evidence of the respected former President to assist them in proving my innocence.<\/div>\n
\u201cHowever, with all the controversies arising from the reports of the said pronouncements and the attendant concerns thereof, I have instructed my legal team to revisit and review the entire issue of the subpoena.<\/div>\n
\u201cIn the past 20 months I have shouldered my travails personally and without seeking to involve any other individual and\/or groups in this unfortunate saga.<\/div>\n
\u201cI habour no ill feeling or malice towards none as I believe that with time, justice will surely be done in my matter,\u201d Metuh said.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Former spokesman of the People\u2019s Democratic Party (PDP) has said his request that ex-President Goodluck Jonathan be compelled to testify as defence witness in his trial was not intended to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":60004,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-60003","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive"],"yoast_head":"\nI will Never Connive With Anyone Against Jonathan-Metuh - Pointblank News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/exclusive\/will-never-connive-anyone-jonathan-metuh\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"I will Never Connive With Anyone Against Jonathan-Metuh - 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