The Office of the National Security Adviser told a
Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday that it had in November 2015 petitioned
the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to investigate about 78 firms and
individuals, including a firm owned by the National Publicity Secretary of the
Peoples Democratic Party, Chief Olisa Metuh, that were allegedly paid about
N1.4bn by the ONSA for non-existing contracts.
This was revealed in the electronic mandate issued by a
former NSA, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd.), to the Abuja branch of the Central Bank
of Nigeria, authorising N1.4bn to 78 beneficiaries.
The document was tendered and admitted as exhibits by the
court presided over by Justice Okon Abang on Tuesday, during the resumed trial
of Metuh and his company, Destra Investments Limited, who were charged with
seven counts of money laundering and fraudulent receipt of N400m meant for
procurement of arms from the NSA office on November 22, 2014.
“What is written on the document is payment for security
services,” a Legal Adviser at the Office of the NSA, Mr. Bali Ndam, said when
EFCC’s prosecuting counsel, Mr. Sylvanus Tahir, showed to him the electronic
mandate on Tuesday.
Our correspondent on Tuesday sighted the e-mandate which
showed that N1.4bn was released by the CBN on Dasuki’s instruction to the CBN.
When the defence counsel, Mr. Onyechi Ikpeazu (SAN),
confronted Ndam with the document during cross-examination, the witness read
other part of the document stating that the ONSA paid Metuh for providing
“three operational vehicles.”
The prosecution alleged in the charges that Metuh and his
firm used the N400m paid to them by ONSA for the PDP’s campaign, and were said
to have given about N21m to a former Chairman, Board of Trustees of the PDP,
Chief Tony Anenih.
It alleged that the money was “part of the proceeds of an
unlawful activity” of the immediate past NSA (Dasuki).
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