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Metuh desperate to end trial, offers truce

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Olisa Metuh hospitalised

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), spokesperson Olisa Metuh, on Thursday said he was ready to return N400 million he received from the office of the former NSA, Sambo Dasuki, even as he claimed he was unaware the money he received was meant for arms.

According to Metuh, the said money for which he is under trial was released to him by former President Goodluck Jonathan and was meant to be expended on a project and was used for the project it was meant for.

This is contained in a statement he issued through his lawyer, Onyechi Ikpeazu (SAN), explaining why he would return N400 million to the government.

He noted that there have been discussions on ground with the ministry of Justice, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), and other relevant anti-graft bodies to see how best to settle the unfortunate incident.

Read also: Ex-Air Force Chief begs for out of court settlement in N4.8bn money laundering case

Part of the statement reads: “In the light of the circumstances regarding the case of our client, Chief Olisa Metuh with the EFCC, we want to explain the reasons for our client’s proposal to refund the N400 million released to him by former President Goodluck Jonathan, and which was expended on a project approved by the ex-president on national issues relating to his presidency and the federal government at that time.

“We want to restate that at the time the money was released to him after his presentation to the ex-president, our client had no knowledge of the source, a fact that is now obvious from the evidence of the prosecution and defence witnesses. Our client had every cause to believe that the money was from the ex-president to whom he made presentation, received directives and rendered report and accounts accordingly.

“When the matter first came up and Chief Metuh was invited to the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) in December 2015, he requested to know the source of the money and expressed his readiness to make refunds if it was from government coffers, not minding that the money had been expended as directed by the former President. Officials at ONSA never got back to him as they promised, until his arrest by the EFCC in January 2016.”

Metuh is being tried for allegedly receiving N400 million of funds meant to procure arms from Dasuki.

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