Details of what the embattled National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Chief Olisa Metuh wrote in the statement he was alleged to have torn while in custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on January 5, has surfaced.
This was contained in the statements of five operatives of the anti-graft agency who were alleged to have witnessed the incident on January 5, 2016, the day Metuh was arrested, Punch reports.
According to the report, the statement was part of the documents EFCC filed alongside the charges of destruction of evidence against Metuh at the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja.
The statement signed by an EFCC detective, Junaid Sa’id reads, “Destruction OF Written Statement: I have booked the incident of tearing into pieces of statement by Mr. Olisa Metuh, who was given his statement to endorse after volunteering his statement and he decided to tear into pieces the third page of his four-page statement.
“The torn statement has, however, been registered with the Exhibit Keeper. Entry made by Det. Junaid Sa’id.”
The EFCC alleged that Metuh had in the torn statement said former President, Goodluck Jonathan requested for the account in which the said N400m was paid into, adding that the money was paid to enable him settle some debts owed by the PDP.
The statement further reads, “12.30 hours: Mr. Metuh Olisa began to volunteer his statement under words of caution.
“15.30 hours: Mr. Metuh Olisa concluded his statement which was of four pages. I passed the statements to the team leader, CSP Ibrahim Musa, to read over and endorse accordingly but in the process of reading and after endorsing pages one and two, he swiftly tore into pieces page three of his statement which read that former President Jonathan had asked him to make available, account details owed by his party, the Peoples Democratic Party, and the debts owed him personally and some media houses.
“He further stated that he gave the account details of Destra Investments Ltd. to the President and thereafter he received the payment of N400m into his company’s accounts which he used for specific assignments given to him by the President of which he was not willing to disclose for what purpose.
“I thereafter refused to give him page four of his statement for endorsement because I did not want him to tear it as well. This incidence (sic) happened in the presence of the following officers: Mr. Ibrahim Musa, Mr. Wetkas Michael, Mr. Bello Umar, Ms. Ibrahim, who were all carrying out their various assignments.
“16.30 hours: The torn page of the statement which is in pieces was registered with the exhibit keeper and the incident recorded in the incidence record book of the commission.”
The EFCC had claimed that Metuh tore his statement on January 5, 2016 while being investigated for allegedly collecting the sum of N400m from the Office of the National Security Adviser