METUH’S TRIAL: Despite order, Jonathan fails to appear as court insists on Dasuki’s testimony

Former president Goodluck Jonathan was not in court on Wednesday to testify in the trial of erstwhile national publicity secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Olisa Metuh, despite an order of Justice Okon Abang of Abuja Federal High Court, mandating the ex-president to appear before the court.

As the ongoing trial in Metuh’s alleged fraud offence resumed on Wednesday, newsmen had expected to see the former president; he was however nowhere to be found, near or around the court.

Justice Abang had on Tuesday confirmed that that he had Monday issued a subpoena to be served on Jonathan to appear in court on Wednesday to testify in the matter.

But the court registrar who had earlier on Tuesday explained to the judge that the court bailiff was yet to serve Jonathan with the subpoena, on Wednesday also told the court that the former leader had not yet been served with the subpoena.

Reacting to the development, Justice Abang gave the court bailiff five days to serve Jonathan with the subpoena.

He added that in the event that the bailiff failed to serve Jonathan personally, Metuh, who filed the application, should ensure he served the ex-President with the subpoena through substituted means.

Meanwhile, the court on Wednesday struck out the application by the detained National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, asking the court to excuse him from testifying in Metuh’s trial.

In his application, Dasuki had asked the court to set aside the subpoena ordering him to appear in court to testify in the trial because he had been under trauma in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS) and that he had already been labelled an accomplice in the charge.

Dasuki’s lawyer, Ahmed Raji (SAN), had therefore urged the judge to determine the prayer of his client on merit.

But Justice Abang, ruling on Dasuki’s application, held that having been ordered by the Court of Appeal in Abuja on September 29, 2017, that the DSS produce Dasuki so that he could testify in the matter, he lacked the jurisdiction to hear and determine the motion on merit.

According to Abang, determining the motion on merit would amount to an attempt to review the judgment of a higher court.

Read also: Dasuki says he’s in turmoil, doesn’t want to implicate self testifying in Metuh’s case

He said that all the points Raji raised on behalf of Dasuki had become academic as the court lacked jurisdiction to hear the complaints, adding that hearing the application would amount to “judicial anarchy.”

He said, “If the applicant (Dasuki) is dissatisfied, he should know what to do and where to go, but certainly not this court.”

Dasuki was not in court on Wednseday despite the subpoena issued directing the DSS to produce him in court to testify in the trial.

Justice Abang adjourned the matter to October 31.

Metuh had requested that both Jonathan and Dasuki be summoned to testify in his alleged N400 million fraud trial. He was accused of receiving the money unlawfully from the office of the NSA in 2014.

 

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