Some lawyers said tearing up his statement at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commisssion (EFCC) does not stop him from being prosecuted, The Nation reports.
Report had surfaced some days back that Metuh tore a statement he made to the EFCC, concerning his alleged involvement in the $2,1billion arms fraud and tried to eat it.
The lawyers include professor of Law, Itsay Sagay(SAN), Professor Kanyisola Ajayi (SAN), Felix Fagbohungbe (SAN), Wahab Shittu, chairman of Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Ikeja branch, Yinka Farounbi, member of Ogun state Judicial Service Commission, Abayomi Omoyinmi and national president of the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR) Malachy Ugwummadu.
According to Sagay, the EFCC could prosecute Metuh for criminal conduct as what he did amounted to a criminal act saying, “It is a bad example by somebody of his status.”
He noted that the torn statement could still be tendered in court if the pieces could be put together.
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On his part, Prof Ajayi said: “The alleged tearing up of the confessional statement shouldn’t affect the EFCC’s prosecution. The EFCC as an organisation will most likely have other evidence to support its case before it proceeds to court. It should have other things in store that’ll prove that the crime it alleged was committed was indeed committed by the defendant.”
Also speaking, Fagbohungbe said Metuh may have decided to destroy statement after he realized he wrote incriminating things against himself.
“His action will raise a lot of suspicion in the mind of security agents. It is a suspicious conduct,” he said.
According to Omoyinmi, the implication of Metuh’s action was that he could be charged with willful destruction of property belonging to the government because the matter at hand is a criminal offence.
Lending his voice to the matter, Farounbi said it was unfortunate that Metuh did what he did, “If the statement is not badly torn, it could be used; otherwise it will constitute a separate offence and the torn paper constitutes an exhibit against him,” he said.
On his part, Ugwummadu said if indeed Metuh attempted to destroy his confessional statement, it exposes his thuggish nature and level of civility.
Metuh, who has been in detention since Tuesday last week, allegedly admitted to receiving N400m from the office of the National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki.
He was said to have told investigators that he would rather starve than refund the money he is being prosecuted for.
Report had it that he indicated his interest to make public all the assignments he did for Nigeria’s past president, Goodluck Jonathan during the last presidential election.
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