The Appeal Court on Wednesday nullified the conviction and seven years jail term handed to a former spokesperson of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Olisa Metuh.
Newsmen recalls that Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court, Abuja, had found Metuh guilty of money laundering charges.
Justice Abang had in his judgment delivered on February 25, 2020, sentenced Metuh to seven years’ imprisonment for fraudulently receiving N400m from the Office of the National Security Adviser then being headed by Col Sambo Dasuki.
But ruling on Wednesday, a three-man panel led by Justice Stephen Adah in a unanimous judgment, held that the proceedings of the Federal High Court leading to the conviction of Metuh and his company, Destra Investment Limited, were tainted with bias, and therefore must not be allowed to stand.
Justice Adah, who delivered the lead judgment, held that the utterances of Justice Abang, in the course of the trial, established that he was biased against the convicts.
He, therefore, ordered that trial be conducted afresh.
He directed that the case file be sent back to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court for reassignment to another judge other than Justice Abang.
