This is a press statement from the family of Chief Olisa
Metuh. Read below.
The entire Metuh family has been following the issues
regarding our son, Chief Olisa Metuh and his ordeal since his arrest, detention
and arraignment by the EFCC since January this year. We are aware that the
matter regarding our son is subjudice hence we shall only comment on matters
that are already in the public domain. For the avoidance of doubt, we want to
make the following clarifications.
In December 2014, when the issue of the N400 million came up
and our son was invited by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA),
he immediately reported at ONSA. He then made enquiries regarding the source of
the money with a clear statement to ONSA that if the source of the money is
from government coffers, he was willing to refund accordingly not minding that
the money has been expended as directed by the former President. At that time,
ONSA did not make the necessary clarifications.
Upon his arrest on the 5th of January 2015, the EFCC went to
town mentioning several figures that were not the exact amount of money
transferred to our son’s account. They alleged that N1.4 billion arms deal
money was traced to his account and that he has been receiving N4 million
monthly from ONSA. They kept him in detention for a period of 9 days after
which he was transferred to Kuje prison where he spent another 13 days.
Nigerians are aware that of all the people who have been
facing the predicament of having worked for either the PDP or the previous
Federal Government, our son has been the only one that was brought to court in
handcuffs, paraded as a common criminal and treated without any dignity
whatsoever. Eventually our son was
granted bail under one of the most stringent conditions ever in the history of
our country. Fortunately, we were able to meet the bail conditions and our son
has been facing trial since then. He has been cooperating with the judiciary
and done all required of him in the course of the trial.
May we also point out that since his arrest and even up to
about a week ago, our son has made several overtures to the arresting authority
for him to refund the money since they now claim in court that it came from
government coffers. All efforts have been unsuccessful.
It is instructive that out of over 300 names listed as
having received money from the ONSA, all those who offered to refund money were
not arraigned in court. Our son is the
only one whose offer to refund money was rejected and has been arraigned in
court and his case given accelerated hearing. On each trial date the hostility
in the courtroom is palpable.
As we speak to you the offer to refund the money to the
federal government is still open and the government is yet to accept the offer.
It is therefore clear to us that the intention is not the recovery of funds but
a clear persecution of our son.
Our son was diagnosed with a spinal cord problem in 2004. He
has consistently managed it over this period. However, due to the treatments he
received while in custody, the situation got aggravated. In the course of his
trial, the situation deteriorated, especially after he fell at a meeting in the
party office for which he was rushed to the National Hospital and was admitted
in the Intensive Care Unit. Notwithstanding the grave medical condition, he
still kept his court date the very next morning in spite of medical advice by
the doctors. On another such occasion he vomited in court and had to be rushed
back to the hospital where he is lying critically ill.
Upon doctors’ recommendation, our son made application to be
granted leave and his international passport released for him to travel to a
recommended neurological hospital in London for immediate, critical delicate
corrective surgery to save him from imminent irreversible paralysis.
We are therefore shocked that with all the information
available to the court regarding his grave medical condition and the critical
need for him to have this corrective surgery, the Federal High Court Abuja
refused his application. It is also instructive to note that the Federal High
Court Abuja on the same day granted leave to someone facing similar trial to go
abroad for one month for prayers while our ailing son is not allowed to travel
for urgent medical attention. We are also aware that a few others facing
similar trials, within the same federal high court jurisdiction, have been
granted leave to travel for medical treatment and their passports released to
them by the same court where they were granted bail.
It is absurd that the main reason given by the court for
refusing the application is that there are several teaching hospitals in
Nigeria that can handle such critical spinal problems, especially as this
dramatic claim by the trial Judge has no medical basis whatsoever. This is
clearly one of the tactics being used by the court in an attempt to whip up
public sentiments against our son in this courtroom media trial moreso when it
is judicial notice that even public officers are allowed to travel abroad on
ordinary medical check-up and at public expense. Our request is on the basis of
a life-threatening ailment and will be undertaken with our own private
resources.
Sadly, as we speak, our son is lying on admission at the
National Hospital where his spinal ailment is fast deteriorating and doctors
fearing the worse for his life. He currently relies on palliatives being given
to him at the National Hospital Abuja waiting for the opportunity of a
corrective surgery.
The essence of a criminal trial is to achieve justice and no
justice can be achieved if someone dies in the process. We feel more convinced
that this is a political vendetta considering the fact of his efforts to pay
back the money if it came from government coffers not minding that the money
has been expended as directed by the former President.
Till date, the powers that be have shown that they would
rather prosecute our son than accept a refund of the money. For those who are
conversant with the goings on in the court, it is no longer news that our son
was not informed that this money came from a source other than from the former
President. Why then this concerted effort to silence him finally.
Our concern now is that that our son should not be sentenced
to a life in a wheel chair especially as we believe that the paramount interest
of the authorities should rather be more on the recovery of funds. In this case,
our son has from the onset shown his willingness to refund the money rather
than dragging in other party members involved in the said assignment.
Finally we want Nigerians to note that our son has never
held any public office, has never worked for any arm of government and is not
being charged for stealing and/or corrupt enrichment.
Signed:
Chief Gilbert Metuh.
For and On behalf of the Metuh family.
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