A wealth manager with Asset Resources Management (ARM), Nicole Nneka Ararume, has told an Abuja Federal High Court, how Olisa Metuh, embattled People’s Democratic Party (PDP) national publicity secretary, paid her $2 million in cash, in December 2014.
Ararume, who made this known before the court while being cross examined as a principal witness 1 (PW1), in a seven-count charge brought against Metuh by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), affirmed that the money was meant to be invested in ARM by Metuh.
The PW1 in her testimony also said that, though they do not have details of client’s accounts, until funds were transferred to them or they transfer to them, Metuh had been a client of the financial institution even before joining the staff workforce in April 2013.
She said Metuh called her sometime in December 2014 to bring reports as regards portfolio and asset to which she met him at his Prince and Princess Estate, place of residence in Abuja, where he gave her the $2 million in $100 bills, to be taken to a bureau de change operator, which will then transfer same to ARM, for future investment in favour of Destra Investment Limited, being charged alongside Metuh.
But before cross-examination of the PW1, the defence counsel led by Onyeachi Ikpeazu, had sought the court for an adjournment on the grounds that some of the issues raised in the testimony of the PW1 were very contentious, and there was need to revert to facts in documents with the defendant (Metuh), to which the EFCC through its counsel, Sylvanus Tahir, opposed to.
In its bench ruling, the court averred that having warned parties in the matter against frivolous adjournments during the trial, Ikpeazu (defence counsel) never raised the issue at the commencement of trial, and that, non granting of bail does not frustrate trial, having been availed adequate time to cross check with the proof of evidence filed.
Earlier, Metuh, through his counsel had informed the court about his pending application seeking for variation of the bail earlier granted the accused by the trial judge, Justice Okon Abang, in which he requested that the two sureties must be landowners within Maitama area of Abuja, with deed of property, which must be verified by EFCC within 24 hours.
Also testifying against Metuh in court was PW2, Iyename Osie, a bureaux de change operator, said he knew Destra Investment Limited in December 2, 2014, when PW1 forwarded the bank details to him for a transaction he brokered.
He said that $1 million was sold to him at N183 per dollar, to which $500,000 was sold to Capital Investment and Trustees, a Lagos-based BDC, while the remaining was sold to one Etionye, the sum of N92 million and N91 million, totalling N183 million.
When prodded further on what he knew about foreign exchange, he said “he knew some and doesn’t know some,” when the court asked him to explain, he said “there was a threshold of $4000 for persons and $5000 for business transactions.”
The trial judge however adjourned the matter to today, January 26, for continuation of trial.
