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Wednesday 27 January 2016

ONSA: Metuh’s Firm, Others Received N1.4bn For Doing Nothing


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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