$2.1billion arms deal: EFCC closes in on Metuh

There are strong indications that the National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Olisa Metuh may soon be a guest of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over alleged roles he may have played in the $2.1billion arms deal.

Reports say detectives probing the arms contracts have traced N1.4billion to the account of a company allegedly linked with Metuh, and that the account of the company, Destra Investment Limited, may be frozen when the ongoing probe gets to a “convenient bend”.

The anti-graft commission has placed the activities of the company and its bank transactions under surveillance.

A source at the EFCC also confided that Metuh would be invited any moment from now or face arrest as part of the next phase of the arms deal investigation.

The Department of State Service (DSS) has also reportedly invited Metuh for interaction on some issues, a move that has attracted protests from some PDP leaders.

When asked how the commission would handle the controversy that may arise from the invitation of Metuh since he is the spokesman of the opposition PDP, the source said, “We are not interested in his office but in the public money that found its way into his hands”.

According to sources, EFCC investigators discovered that Destra Investment Limited was used to fund the PDP’s activities, including its 2015 campaign.
The EFCC found that the company, which had N6, 676,576.06 as at November 24, 2014, recorded a balance of N1.4billion by last December.

Some of the strange deposits in the account are: N400million from the Office of National Security Adviser (ONSA) on November 24th, 2014; N253million ( December 2nd and 4th, 2014) from Ibrahim Kabiru whose identity was yet to be confirmed; N91million on 2nd December 2014 from Capital Field Investment; and N92million on 3rd December 2014 from Etonye Oyintoneife.

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A source in the commission said: “By December 2015, the owner of Destra had a turnover of over N1.4billion. There is no document to show that the company executed any job for ONSA. All companies engaged by ONSA appeared before the initial Special Investigative Panel raised by the Presidency.

“Other documents indicated that Metuh was allegedly on a monthly unexplained stipend of N4million cash from ONSA.”

Meanwhile, Metuh has said that he is not aware of any investigation by any agency of government on his activities contrary to media reports.
A statement from his office stated that “This office wishes to state categorically that the EFCC has never invited the National Publicity Secretary nor questioned him on any matter whatsoever since its inception.

“If indeed, the report is from the EFCC, then they should note that only in a period of tyranny are people investigated on the pages of the newspapers as a prelude for abuse and violation of their freedom and rights under the law.

“It is instructive to observe that a mere media campaign of calumny does not in any way whatsoever translate to any evidence of guilt. It is rather an evidence of infringement on the rights of the citizenry and manifestation of the reign of tyranny”, the statement said.

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