$2.1bn Fraud: Olisa Metuh Ready to Refund N400m; Declares Support for Buhari’s Anti-Corruption War

$2.1bn Fraud: Olisa Metuh Ready to Refund N400m; Declares Support for Buhari’s Anti-Corruption War

A former publicity secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr Olisa Metuh on Thursday announced that he had begun formal talks with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on his willingness to refund the sum of N400 million, the subject of his ongoing trial for fraud and money laundering.

Metuh in a statement through his lawyer, Onyechi Ikpeazu (SAN), stated that he had no knowledge of the source of the money at the time it was released to him by former President Goodluck Jonathan, adding that it was only in court he got to see documents showing that the money had been diverted from the office of the national security adviser.

He said he had been in talks “with the Ministry of Justice, the EFCC and other necessary bodies on how to refund the money and resolve the issue.

Ikpeazu (SAN) in his letter, said: “It was however while in court that a document was brought regarding the source of the money and since then, our Client has made manifest his willingness to refund the money and has indeed approached his family, friends and associates to mobilise funds to refund the entire N400 million to the government regardless of the fact that the money had been expended based on the directives of the former President and that part of the money had been recovered from one of the prosecution witnesses.”

The statement further said: “It is pertinent to restate our client’s continued support for the anti-corruption campaign, which is necessary to ensure probity in the affairs of Nigeria to the extent that it is conducted within the rule of law.”