The Federal High Court in Abuja has sentenced the convicted former National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Chief Olisa Metuh, to seven years imprisonment. The court in a judgement by Justice Okon Abang also ordered Metuh to pay a total sum of N375million to the coffers of the Federal Government.
Justice Abang directed that his firm, Destra Investment Ltd, should be wound up with all funds standing to its credit forfeited to the government. Metuh and his firm were convicted on all the seven-count money laundering charge the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, preferred against them.
The court found them guilty of unlawfully receiving N400million from the Office of the National Security Adviser, ONSA, prior to the 2015 presidential election, without contract approval or execution. Metuh was also convicted for involving in an illicit transaction that involved the exchange of $2million, in violation of extant financial regulations. While he was sentenced to seven years on counts 1, 2, 4 and 7 of the charge, the count handed him five years on count 3, three years on count 5 and 6.
The firm was ordered to pay N25m with respect to both counts 5 and 6 of the charge. The court held that the sentence would run concurrently starting from today.
