A’Court Reserves Ruling on Metuh’s Suit

Alex Enumah in Abuja

The Court of Appeal saturday reserved ruling indefinitely on the interlocutory appeal filed by former National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Olisa Metuh, challenging the refusal of the Federal High Court, Abuja, to issue a subpoena on the former National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd) to appear in court to testify for him.

The court reached the decision after taken submissions of counsel in the matter. Chief Onyechi Ikpeazu (SAN) had argued Metuh’s motion seeking to upturn the decision of the trial court while Sylvanus Tahir, in a counter motion, urged the court to dismiss Metuh’s application.

After listening to their submissions, the panel however announced that it had reserved ruling to a date that would be communicated to parties in the matter.

Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court had in a ruling dismissed Metuh’s application that sought an order of court to compel the DSS to release Dasuki to give evidence in his trial.

Abang, in rejecting the application, held that Dasuki was not a compellable witness, and ordered that Metuh seeks other ways of getting the DSS to produce Dasuki to testify for him.

According to Metuh, his resolved to approach the trial court to issue the subpoena was predicated on his inability to get the DSS to produce Dasuki to no avail, after several efforts.

Not satisfied with the decision of the trial court, Metuh then approached the Court of Appeal for intervention, insisting that the evidence of Dasuki is needed to establish his innocence.

This is because Metuh is principally charged to reasonably ought to have known that the N400 million paid into his account forms part of the proceeds of alleged illegal activities of Dasuki. The defence therefore holds that the appearance and testimony of Dasuki is crucial for the establishment of the justice of the case.

Metuh is therefore seeking the Court of Appeal to upturn the dismissal of the ruling by the trial court so that DSS will be compelled by order of court to produce Dasuki to testify in the case in which his name featured in five out of the seven charges preferred against Metuh.

It is the argument of the defence that Dasuki’s statement is vital to the determination of the justice of the matter.