On January 19, when he was first taken to court in handcuffs, Metuh received significant public sympathy for the “disgrace” – save for the likes of Adams Oshiomhole, governor of Edo state, who said : “If those accused of lesser crimes are handcuffed and paraded by the police and get no sympathy from the public, Mr. Metuh and others, accused of diverting huge public funds, should not have sympathy.”
The argument of Metuh’s sympathisers was that even Sambo Dasuki, Goodluck Jonathan’s national security adviser, whom the funds allegedly emanated from, was never handcuffed to court in all his appearances. It was further argued that Nnamdi Kanu, the Biafra campaigner being tried for treason, a far more serious offence, had not been so disgraced.
Well, on his supposed day of disgrace, Metuh received a N400m bail from a federal high court in Abuja. Okon Abang, the presiding judge, ordered him to produce two sureties who own property in the Maitama area of Abuja, and also asked him to submit his international passport. That was for a seven-count charge of money-laundering.
His lawyers were still working to meet the conditions of that bail when EFCC quickly re-arraigned him, two days later, this time on a two-count charge of destruction of evidence.
As it happened in the first case, Metuh secured bail again; and by now, his lawyers must have begun perfecting the conditions as well.
This is Metuh’s second ‘temporary victory’ in four days and he must really think he is edging close to reuniting with his family. But who knows what EFCC has up its sleeves: prosecution for these charges or re-arraignment on fresh charges?
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