…Says his imprisonment tinted with bias
The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has revoked the conviction and seven years jail term against a former spokesperson of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Olisa Metuh, over money laundering charges.
The development occurred on Wednesday when a three-man panel led by Justice Stephen Adah held that the proceedings of the Federal High Court leading to the conviction of Metuh and his company, Destra Investment Limited, were tainted with bias, and therefore must not be allowed to stand.
It was gathered that Justice Adah, who delivered the lead judgment, held that the utterances of the trial judge, Justice Okon Abang, in the course of the trial, established that he was biased against the convicts.
Justice Adah, by virtue of the observation, ordered that trial be conducted afresh.
Reports have it that he directed for the case file to be sent back to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court for reassignment to another judge other than Justice Abang.
Justice Abang had in his judgment delivered on February 25, 2020, sentenced Metuh to seven years’ imprisonment for fraudulently receiving N400m from the Office of the National Security Adviser then being headed by Col Sambo Dasuki.
