The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has confirmed the investigation of Chief Olisa Metuh, the National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, over his alleged involvement in the $2.1 billion arms contract scam.
The EFCC spokesman, Wilson Uwujaren, confirmed to the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja today that Metuh was being investigated over the N1.4 billion traced to the account of a company, Destra Investment Limited, linked to him in the arms contract scam.
“It is true that Metuh is being investigated by the EFCC but I do not have further details on the matter. I am not aware of his arrest by the EFCC, but will get back to you as soon as it is confirmed.”
However, a statement by Richard Ihediwa, the Special Assistant to Metuh, said that EFCC officials visited the PDP National Publicity Secretary’s home in Abuja today and that he was asked to follow them to the commission’s headquarters.
“Upon enquiry on the reasons for the invitation, the officials stated that he had some issues to clear with the commission. They also said he was not being arrested but on a friendly invitation.
“The operatives, four in number, came in a white unmarked Toyota Hiace bus.”
The statement said that Metuh was still being kept at the commission’s headquarters and that his lawyers were making “frantic” efforts to reach him.
It added that the commission had yet to make public why Metuh was invited, even as it recalled that Metuh had severally raised alarm that his life was being threatened.
Meanwhile the National Secretary of the party, Professor Adewale Oladipo, has described the arrest of Metuh as part of the the growing political intolerance in our country and the foisting of a police state which was last Wednesday underscored by the President and Commander-in-Chief himself, who defended why a government in a democracy should flout constitutional provision and brazenly disobey court orders.
In a statement, Professor Oladipo said that this onslaught against the PDP’s spokesman is part of a larger script by the government to ensure that PDP wings are finally clipped in their mission to install a dictatorial one-party state in the country
The statement reads:
This development, which did not come to us as a surprise, given series of threats to our party’s spokesman by the APC and the Federal Government, who are obviously not comfortable with our stance on the confused state of the nation under their watch, is a continuation of APC’s grand design to silence and decimate the PDP.
The arrest of Chief Metuh today underscores the growing political intolerance in our country and the foisting of a police state which was last Wednesday underscored by the President and Commander-in-Chief himself, who defended why a government in a democracy should flout constitutional provision and brazenly disobey court orders.
This onslaught against our spokesman, according to intelligence available to us is part of a larger script by the government to ensure that PDP wings are finally clipped in their mission to install a dictatorial one-party state in the country.
The excesses of security agencies under this government, especially the Directorate of Security Services (DSS) and the EFCC, in abridging the human rights of PDP members have become worrisome and a threat to our democratic evolution.
Nigerians and the international community will recall that on a number of occasions, the PDP, through its spokesman has been outspoken on some undemocratic proclivities being exhibited by the APC-led Federal Government in the last seven months.
The PDP insists that for whatever reason Chief Metuh was arrested, his rights as a citizen under the law must not be trampled upon. We therefore demand for his immediate release and that due process of investigation and prosecution concerning him should be strictly adhered to.
We state this because we have been made aware of top directives to break Chief Metuh and if possible poison him during his detention by the EFCC. Chief Metuh, has since his arrest at about 10 am, has been kept incommunicado, with his lawyers denied access to him.
The PDP declares the arrest of our spokesman as the last straw that may break our democracy. We therefore forewarn the Federal Government and its agencies to save our democracy and forthwith release our National Publicity Secretary.
We are also calling on the international community and well-meaning Nigerians to stand up for this democracy, which our party nurtured for 16 years and deepened to a level where the opposition, for the first time in our political history, had the opportunity to win in a general election. [myad]
Everywhere and everyone you turned to its looting, looting everywhere….absolutely a shame for our country and people. I don’t think any honest Nigerian will be angry if we are called a “country of looters”. Indeed we probably were before May 29. Before Buhari took over, it has almost attained a disaster level. Going forward, we have no choice, than to rid our country of this menace, no matter the lone voice critism from the culprits and their agents.