Former National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Chief Olisa Metuh, has declared that he does not have N1bn to pay ex-president, Goodluck Jonathan.
He prayed the Federal High Court in Abuja not to set aside the subpoena it issued to compel former President Goodluck Jonathan to appear as a witness in his ongoing trial.
Metuh further kicked against Jonathan’s insistence that the defendant must deposit with the court, for and on behalf of himself, the sum of N1billion in line with provisions of Section 241(2) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015, before he would mount the witness box.
In a five-paragraphed counter- affidavit that was moved by his lawyer, Mr. Emeka Etiaba, SAN, Metuh said he does not have N1bn to give Jonathan.
Etiaba drew attention of the court to the fact that the bailiff earlier deposed an affidavit that he had yet to serve the subpoena on Jonathan.
“This application is therefore not only soeculative but premature and deserves to be struck out.
“With respect to demand for deposition of N1bn, the 1st defendant in his affidavit averred that he does not have such amount.
“We believe that such demand is punitive and meant to frustate the 1st defendant’s attempt at obtaining an evidence that will assist him in the defence of the charge against him before this court.
“It is the view of the 1st defendant that from the first day that he was arrested, he made it clear that the release of the money was authorised by the former President and was released by the former NSA, Dasuki.
“My lord this application simply seeks to set aside the subpoena and to save this nation the embarrasment of having a man who means a lot to the entire country as a former President, to step into the dock to give evidence.
“My lord it is unprecedented, and the embarrassment could have been aborted if the charge against the 1st defendant was not preferred after he had disclosed to the EFCC the source of the fund for which the defendants are standing trial.
“My lord in the circumstance, it is our position that this application be struck out”, Etiaba added.
