April 18, 2016
Press Statement
Our attention has been drawn to a report being circulated by a section of the media suggesting that the National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Olisa Metuh was absent at the scheduled resumption of his trial before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory today, Monday, April 18, 2016
This is false, wrong and quite erroneous as Chief Olisa Metuh was very much in court as can be testified to by the court registrar and the prosecutor. The fact is that the court did not sit wherein the case was duly adjourned and a new date was fixed accordingly. We therefore do not understand the basis of this false report.
Whilst we understand the excitement of a section of the media over the trial, we plead that reports should be cross-checked and balanced in the interest of fairness, and in line with the ethics of the profession.
We want to recall that a legitimate and credible request for transfer of his case in the Federal High Court to another judge was also grossly distorted by the same section of the media, who erroneously passed it off as being based on Chief Olisa Metuh and the trial judge being classmates. while relegating the main issues contained in the request.
In his trials, Chief Olisa Metuh has submitted to the jurisdiction of the court and its currently defending all charges in accordance to the law. It is therefore not in the interest of justice that a skewed media trial be orchestrated against his person for some other obvious reasons.
Signed:
Richard Ihediwa
Special Assistant To The National Publicity Secretary
