METUH PAID NTA, FRCN, DAILY TRUST, TRIBUNE OTHERS FROM N400M – WITNESS

Abuja – A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has been told that the embattled former spokesman of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP), Chief Olisa Metuh paid media organizations from the N400 million he is alleged to have collected from the money meant for purchase of arms.

The prosecution witness, Mr. Richard Ihediwa, told the court presided over by Justice Okon Abang that the beneficiaries were Daily Trust, Champion and Newswatch newspapers, the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) and the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigerian (FRCN) which he said were all paid in cash to launder the image of the president.




The witness who spoke during cross examination by counsel to Destra Investment Limited, Mr. Torchukwu Onwugbufor, told the court that Metuh also paid cash to one Segun Olatunji Jacobs of the Tribune newspaper, but that he could not remember some of the newspaper houses that were paid in cash.

He said, the media campaign in support of former President Goodluck Jonathan became necessary because of the agitation from North, South-South, South-West and South-East.

“The issue of resource control, infrastructural development and the implementation of the recommendation from the National conference was threatening in the South-South.

“In the North, there was the issue of insecurity. The agitation led to a lot of demand on the former president and he felt the best way to handle the agitation was through media publicity and public enlightenment instead of the use of the gun or force,” he said.

Meanwhile, deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, has signed as surety to Metuh, after one of his sureties, Dr. Olugbumi Usim-Wilson, withdrew her sureteeship.