Metuh lied, I didn’t know him, Abang tells Chief Judge

Equity Okon Abang of a Federal High Court in Abuja has exposed the case of the National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, Chief Olisa Metuh, that they had known each other before the PDP's representative's trial began in his court on January 15 this year.

The judge denied the case and different affirmations contained in a request sent by one of Metuh's attorneys, Mr. Emeka Etiaba (SAN), to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Ibrahim Auta, requesting the re-task of the PDP's representative's trial to another judge.

Our reporter located Justice Abang's reaction, dated March 23, 2016, which was tended to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court.

The judge, in his reaction, kept up that he never knew Metuh to be his schoolmate in the 1987/1988 arrangement of the Nigerian Law School, which as per him, was comprised of more than 1,000 understudies.

He included that if Metuh had really been his cohort, that could never show signs of change the truths of the case and the important laws.

Metuh and his organization, Destra Investments Limited, are being indicted before Justice Abang by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

The EFCC is indicting Metuh and his firm on seven checks of IRS evasion including $2m money exchange and contract extortion identifying with the N400m the blamed purportedly got from the Office for the National Security Adviser in November, 2014.

At a moment that the indictment drove by Mr. Sylvanus Tahir had shut its case with eight witnesses, and Metuh was required to open his barrier, Etiaba sent the appeal, dated March 11, 2016, to the Federal High Court's CJ, requesting the re-task of the case to another judge.

In the request, Etiaba asserted that Metuh was a schoolmate of the judge in the 1988 arrangement of the Nigerian Law School.

He asserted that Metuh and the judge both specialized in legal matters in Lagos before the PDP representative moved to Abuja and Justice Abang, on his part, was designated a judge.

Etiaba additionally charged that Metuh met and had talk with Justice Abang before the end of last year at the L'e Meridien Hotel in Akwa Ibom State, including that his customer was confused at the perspectives communicated by the judge amid their experience.

The legal counselor likewise blamed the judge for refusing so as to deny his customer reasonable hearing to discharge to the resistance group a duplicate of the records of procedures of the court to empower them to offer against a few choices of the judge over the span of the trial.

Be that as it may, Justice Abang denied every one of the affirmations in his letter to the Chief Judge.

The judge expressed that he couldn't review either seeing Metuh while at the Law School or running over him while honing as a legal advisor anyplace in the nation before he (Abang) was named a judge in June 2009.

Equity Abang expressed that as opposed to Metuh's case, he never went to any capacity at the Uyo lodging where the PDP's representative guaranteed they met toward the end of last year.

He included that he didn't see Metuh at the Law School class gathering gatherings which he as of late went to in Abuja, Lagos and Enugu.

The judge expressed, "as for the main issue that the applicant, Emeka Etiaba (SAN), expressed that the first respondent in Charge FHC/ABJ/CR/05/2016 was my colleague in the Nigerian Law School, my Lord, for the records, I was at the Law School in 1987/88 scholastic session.

"I am not mindful that Olisa Metuh was my schoolmate in the Nigerian Law School. I can't saw him in the time session in my time. In the Law School, we were more than 1,000 understudies and we had then two sessions, morning that I went to.

"He is not from my place, Oron, in Akwa Ibom State. I didn't consider him to be an understudy at the University of Calabar that I went to between September 1983 and June 1987. I have never met him by and by anyplace in the nation before I was lifted to the seat in June 2009.

"Once more, he asserted he met me at Le' Meriden, Uyo, toward the end of last year. I was not at Le' Meriden, Uyo, toward the end of last year. I had no capacity that I went to at the Le' Meriden, Uyo, before the end of last year. I didn't meet him at Le' Meriden Uyo toward the end of last year. In the event that the records demonstrate that he is an attorney and was called to the Nigerian Bar on November 3, 1988, which record I am yet to see, that can't influence the realities and the law.

"I went to as of late my class gathering meeting in Abuja, Lagos and Enugu, I didn't see Olisa Metuh in the spots I said. I am not identified with Olisa Metuh at all, I don't know where he originates from."

Concerning the assertion that he conveyed decisions for the indictment, Abang said Metuh's legal counselor should comprehend what to do.

The judge additionally denied the affirmation that he intentionally withheld the record of procedures to leave Metuh's arrangement to claim against a portion of the court's choices.

The judge expressed, "As respects the issue that I settled on interlocutory rulings for the arraignment in the matter, my reaction here is basic, and that will be that I am qualified for give choices in matters put before me for mediation hosting heard gatherings.

"That is the reason there are re-appraising courts. In the event that he is disappointed with those choices, I think Emeka Etiaba (SAN) should recognize what to do.

"As respects the claimed non-arrival of the record of procedures, I think Emeka Etiaba (SAN) is not reasonable to me by any stretch of the imagination. I will abandon him to his still, small voice. He has an uncalled for rationale in such manner.

"For the records, my Lord, the litigant connected for the Certified True Copy of the procedures at the time the procedures were going ahead from everyday. I endorsed same and guided my secretary to sort the procedures.

"The procedures were massive in nature since I heard the case from everyday. At the point when the secretary closed writing the procedures, I relinquished every single other matter before me and focused on checking the wrote procedures to be in accordance with what were in the court's records.

"When I edit the procedures and was fulfilled that it speaks to what happened in the open court, I supported same for affirmation and discharged the procedures to them on March 15, 2016."

The judge had on March 9 rejected Metuh's no case accommodation, proclaiming that the charged had case to answer and guided the respondents to open their safeguard.

Be that as it may, the case has from that point forward been dismissed three times because of the failure of Metuh and his firm to call their witnesses.