News
Court Sentences Metuh To 39 Years Imprisonment
Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court, Abuja, yesterday, sentenced former Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Olisa Metuh, to a total of 39 years imprisonment.
Metuh’s sentencing, which came after four years of trial, was sequel to his conviction in a money laundering charge against him by the Federal Government.
But Metuh, however, is to serve to seven years imprisonment on corruption charges regarding his activities preceding the 2015 presidential election which his party lost.
Justice Abang, delivering judgment at the proceedings which lasted over six hours, convicted Metuh on all the seven counts, including the fraudulent receipt of N400million from the Office of the National Security Adviser in November, 2014, and use of the money for political activities of the PDP and for his personal purposes.
The court also convicted Metuh for transacting with a cash sum of $2million without going through a financial institution.
The judge agreed that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) successfully proved that the transaction violated the anti-money laundering law which pegs the maximum cash transaction an individual undertake outside a financial institution at N5million.
Metuh and his company, Destra Investment Limited were arraigned on a seven-count charge bordering on money laundering to the tune of N400million received from the former National Security Adviser, Col Sambo Dasuki (rtd).
They were also accused of laundering the sum of $2million and conversion of public funds into private usage.
EFCC had in a seven-count charge it entered before the court, alleged that the N400million was electronically wired from an account that ONSA operated with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), to Metuh, via account no. 0040437573, which his firm operated with Diamond Bank Plc.
It told the court that the fund, which was released to Metuh and his firm by detained former NSA, Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd), was part of about $2.1billion earmarked for the purchase of arms to fight insurgency in the North-East.
Besides, the prosecution alleged that Metuh was involved in an illicit transaction that involved the exchange of $2million, in violation of extant financial regulations.
But the former PDP spokesman claimed that the said funds were for a national assignment as directed by the then President, Dr Goodluck Jonathan.
However, delivering judgment in the case, Justice Abang held that the prosecution was able to establish the ingredients of guilt in all the seven-count charge against Metuh and his company.
Justice Abang, accordingly handed down the minimum years as prescribed by Section 15 of the Money Laundering Act.
For count one, the judge sentenced Metuh to seven years imprisonment; count two, seven years; count three, five years; count four, seven years; count five, three years with a fine of N25million; count six, three years with a fine of N25million; and count seven, seven years imprisonment.
The sentences, which are to run concurrently, according to the judge, comes into effect from the day the judgment was delivered, meaning that Metuh will serve all sentences simultaneously, thereby staying only seven years in jail, from yesterday.
While the court ordered the winding up of Destra Investment Limited and the balance in the firm’s bank accounts to be forfeited to the Federal Government, Justice Abang, in addition, imposed a fine of N375million on Metuh.
The judge also directed Metuh to pay the fine of N375million to the Federal Government.
He also ordered Destra Investments to pay N25million to the Federal Government.
He ordered the accounts of Destra in Diamond Bank and Asset Resource Management to be closed and their proceeds forfeited to the Federal Government.
Meanwhile, a group of lawyers has charged the Federal Government to deploy the same energy used in the investigation and prosecution of a former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh, to those in the present administration that have allegations of corruption and fraud on their heads.
Metuh was sentenced to seven years imprisonment, yesterday, by a Federal High Court in Abuja presided over by Justice Okon Abang after he was found guilty of money laundering charge brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Reacting to the judgment of the court, lawyers under the aegis of Coalition of Public Interests Lawyers and Advocates (COPA) said the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration could prove its doubters wrong if and when individuals in the administration that have cases hanging over their heads were given a similar treatment like Metuh’s.
Speaking on behalf of the coalition, Barrister Pelumi Olajengbesi, said: “There is a kind of blood flow that moves in the Federal Government whenever an opposition is being prosecuted.
“What we are saying is that this same energy should be transferred to people who are within the government.
“We are saying that the energy used in prosecuting Olisa Metuh, that energy should be used to investigate all of these (alleged) corrupt elements in the government.”
He stressed that: “We have (Godswill) Akpabio there, who has a lot of questions to answer with the EFCC. Federal Government has not done anything about it.”
The EFCC, in 2018, said the case of alleged fraud involving Akpabio was not over after he (Akpabio) reportedly said that he was a man of peace that had no case to answer with the EFCC.
Olajengbesi also mentioned the current Minister of State for Mines and Steel, Mr. Uchechukwu Sampson Ogah, who he alleged was arrested outside the court premises in 2016 by the EFCC after the police withdrew a case of forgery against him.
Ogah had, however, faulted the reported arrest, saying he was never arrested and the report of his so-called arrest was “false, wicked and fabricated”.
Spokesman to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, and chieftain of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Mr Segun Sowunmi, has advised his principal, Atiku, to learn from President Bola Tinubu on how to form a coalition.
The Tide reports that in a bid to wrest power from President Tinubu in 2027, Atiku has been leading the movement by opposition politicians to form a coalition of political parties ahead of the next general election.
Last month, opposition politicians set up a team comprising former Minister of Transpiration, Rotimi Amaechi, and former Governor of Cross River State, Liyel Imoke, to decide whether to float a new party or fuse into an existing platform.
While the main opposition party, PDP, struggles with a perennial leadership crisis, the former Vice President is bent on establishing another political force to take power from the ruling party in 2027.
But Sowunmi, who has been Atiku’s ally for many years, disagrees with his move, saying instead of forming a coalition with another political platform, he should coalesce opposition politicians into the PDP.
Speaking during an interview on TVC on Tuesday, Sowunmi, who was Atiku’s campaign spokesperson in the last election, asked his principal to learn from President Tinubu on how to form a coalition.
Sowunmi believes Atiku, having benefitted from the PDP as a former Vice President and getting the party’s presidential ticket twice, should not seek to form a coalition that will not have the PDP as its base.
He said, “I’ve always said to people, people love with their hearts. I love atiku with my bones. But I can’t help him against himself. You can’t run vice presidency on PDP two times with Obasanjo, get presidential candidate on that same party two times. I don’t agree with him that the next best thing is to be shopping for…(a platform) If you want a coalition, why are you not coalescing them into your party?” he asked.
The former PDP governorship candidate in Ogun State advised the ex-VP to learn from Tinubu on how to build a coalition without dumping his political party.
“Look at your rival, your friend. You guys started together. At best, even if you want to say he’s building a coalition is he not coalescing opponents into his place”? Sowunmi asked again.
The PDP chieftain, who recently showered praises on Tinubu after he visited him, said the President has an “uncanny ability to make everybody individually feel special” regardless of political affiliations.
His words: “That guy (Tinubu) is something oh, he has this uncanny ability to make everybody individually feel special. It doesn’t matter whether you are a former foe or a president’s friend, every moment you share with him, I don’t know how he does it, though you’re going to leave the place feeling that you matter, feeling that he gets it, feeling that what you guys are talking about is important. And there’s something about him, when he gives you his word, he will say something like ‘ko le ye’, meaning that to the best of human ability, it will stand.”
Meanwhile, there have been conversations about Sowunmi’s political stance as many questioned his relationship with Atiku, with whom he shares a longstanding political relationship.
Asked about his relationship with Atiku following his meeting with Tinubu, Sowunmi said he doesn’t know if the former Vice President is upset.
“I don’t know whether Atiku is upset or not upset, but I know a lot of our followers are talking a lot of nonsense, and I’m wondering how I became attached to Atiku when I’ve been in PDP since 1999 never leaving,” he responded.
The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has introduced a new Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to fix inconsistencies in tax services across its over 300 offices nationwide.
The move aims to make tax processes clearer, more transparent, and easier for Nigerians.
In a statement, Special Adviser on Communications and Advocacy to the FIRS Executive Chairman, Mr. Collins Omokaro, said the updated SOP is a key part of the agency’s plan to improve taxpayer experience.
He explained that, in the past, different FIRS offices used different methods, which often confused taxpayers.
“This is about people, experience, and impact. It’s a step towards a tax system that supports voluntary compliance and national development,” Omokaro said.
The new SOP provides a single guide for key processes like registration, payment, audit, and enforcement. This will ensure all FIRS offices follow the same steps, making the system fairer and more predictable.
FIRS Executive Chairman, Dr. Zacch Adedeji, described the SOP as more than just a set of rules.
“This SOP is not just a technical document; it is a declaration of who we are becoming as a service. It reflects our commitment to transparency and service to the Nigerian people,” he said.
The SOP also supports FIRS’s digital transformation, combining human and technological systems to deliver faster and more reliable services. It will also improve internal efficiency by providing clear guidance and better training for staff.
“With this rollout, every FIRS staff member has a clear mandate: study it, apply it, and embody it. That’s how we’ll earn the trust of Nigerians,” Omokaro added.
The reform is part of FIRS’s efforts to become a more service-driven organisation, focused on clarity, consistency, and national growth. The agency hopes the new SOP will make tax services better for Nigerians and increase public trust in the system.
The Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (HCSF), Mrs Didi Walson-Jack, says the Federal Government is committed to building a world-class public service in Nigeria.
Walson-Jack made this known in Abuja, on Wednesday, at a World Press Conference ahead of the International Civil Service Conference and the African Public Service Week scheduled for June 25 to 26 in Abuja.
She said a recent study tour to Singapore was part of preparatory activities aimed at positioning Nigeria’s civil service for excellence and attracting global participation in the upcoming events.
“The study tour to Singapore was the first major activity we undertook under the collaboration between the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation and the Heads of Service of the 36 states and the FCT,” she said.
According to her, the visit, supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), involved 20 State Heads of Service and was designed to benchmark best global practices and enhance Nigeria’s public service delivery.
“The idea was born out of our ongoing collaboration, where we share ideas and knowledge across federal and state levels.
“Singapore was chosen because it is globally recognised for excellence in public service,” she explained.
Walson-Jack noted that the second phase of the tour will involve the remaining 17 heads of service later this year.
She said the tour provided participants with the opportunity to engage with both public and private sector institutions in Singapore, compare administrative practices, and gain insights into global standards.
“It was an eye-opener and a capacity-building opportunity.
“Since our return, several state civil services have begun implementing reforms in collaboration with the federal service, particularly in areas such as capability development and digital transformation,” she added.
Walson-Jack further disclosed that Nigeria would host a reciprocal study tour during the upcoming African Public Service Week, where foreign delegates will engage with various federal institutions.
“They will see firsthand our digitalisation efforts, performance management systems, and other reform initiatives aimed at transforming our civil service.
“We hope the experience will inspire similar actions in their home countries,” she said.