Alleged N400m fraud: Court strikes out charges against Olisa Metuh

Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja, on Monday, struck out the fresh charges against Olisa Metuh by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, for alleged N400 million money laundering.

Justice Nwite struck them out after considering the submissions of counsel for the defendants in the suit that a matter pending before the Supreme Court could not be decided by the trial court.

At the day’s proceedings, counsel for EFCC, Olarewaju Adeola, told the court that the trial court had reached a decision on the matter which the defendant appealed and the Court of Appeal had set aside the judgment of the trial court, ordering a retrial by another trial judge.

He also stated that the matter was before the Supreme Court challenging the decision of the Appeal Court but the first defendant had an application for the release of his international passport before the trial court.

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Metuh’s counsel, Afam Osigwe, also told the court that his “client doesn’t have any application before the Federal High Court as Justice Nkeonye Maha had made a subsisting order which allows for the effective release of his client’s passport.”

He averred that the matter was a gross abuse of court process as the EFCC could not start the matter afresh while it was pending before the apex court.

He then urged the court to either strike out the suit or stay proceeding, pending the outcome of the appeal at the Supreme Court.

In his reply, the EFCC lawyer, who agreed to the submissions of the counsel for the defendants, said the prosecution would be more comfortable if the matter was adjourned indefinitely.

Justice Nwite after listening to the submissions of all the lawyers in the suit agreed with the fact that the EFCC could not start a fresh suit while the appeal in the suit was pending before the supreme court.

The court, therefore, struck out the suit on grounds that it was a gross abuse of the court process.