The judge of the federal high court in Abuja, Justice Okon Abang has ruled that Chief Olisa Metuh, spokesman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), must perfect the conditions of bail for him to be released from prison.
According to Justice Abang, ”The court cannot be expected to sit on appeal over its decision.” He however relaxed the conditions for sureties.
He therefore directed Metuh to go on appeal against the ruling of the court if he was not satisfied with its decision.
On the amendment of his bail conditions, the judge held that the scope of ownership of property for the sureties was now expanded to include all parts of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), and not just at Maitama as earlier pronounced.
Recall that the defence counsel, Emeka Etiaba, had prayed the court to vary the conditions of Metuh’s bail on six grounds. One of the grounds was that the order requiring the provision of two sureties who must have landed property at Maitama, Abuja, be varied.
But counsel to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Tahir Sylvanus had said: “The prosecution is fundamentally opposed to the application of the first defendant for variation of bail.”
In response, the defence counsel argued that the prosecution had no right to oppose the application since it did not file a counter-affidavit ,and asked the court to exercise its discretion and vary the conditions of the accused person’s bail.
At his trial on Monday, January 25, two prosecution witness gave details of how they received millions of naira, changed currencies and made investment for Metuh.
At the beginning of the hearing of the PDP’s spokesman, he was docked at the court, as he was again brought to the court in handcuffs.
Meanwhile, Adeyanju Deji, the PDP’s director of new media, recently accused President Muhammadu Buhari of denying him access to Metuh.
According to Justice Abang, ”The court cannot be expected to sit on appeal over its decision.” He however relaxed the conditions for sureties.
He therefore directed Metuh to go on appeal against the ruling of the court if he was not satisfied with its decision.
On the amendment of his bail conditions, the judge held that the scope of ownership of property for the sureties was now expanded to include all parts of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), and not just at Maitama as earlier pronounced.
Recall that the defence counsel, Emeka Etiaba, had prayed the court to vary the conditions of Metuh’s bail on six grounds. One of the grounds was that the order requiring the provision of two sureties who must have landed property at Maitama, Abuja, be varied.
But counsel to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Tahir Sylvanus had said: “The prosecution is fundamentally opposed to the application of the first defendant for variation of bail.”
In response, the defence counsel argued that the prosecution had no right to oppose the application since it did not file a counter-affidavit ,and asked the court to exercise its discretion and vary the conditions of the accused person’s bail.
At his trial on Monday, January 25, two prosecution witness gave details of how they received millions of naira, changed currencies and made investment for Metuh.
At the beginning of the hearing of the PDP’s spokesman, he was docked at the court, as he was again brought to the court in handcuffs.
Meanwhile, Adeyanju Deji, the PDP’s director of new media, recently accused President Muhammadu Buhari of denying him access to Metuh.
