Press Release
Undue Political Interest And Interference In The Case Of Chief Olisa Metuh
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Loading ...In the past few weeks, we have witnessed statements, sponsored articles and comments by the All Progressive Congress (APC) and some federal government office holders and apologists in furtherance of the well- funded media trial against our Client, Chief Olisa Metuh.
More disturbing is the direct threat, harassment and intimidation of medical personnel and institutions involved in the treatment and management of our client’s ill-health. We have instances and evidence of these APC controlled agents and agencies directly interfering with the various hospitals that have admitted Chief Metuh in the last two months but the latest is the letter written by APC to the Wellington hospital, London, U.K, depicting our client as an enemy of the Nigerian state and one that should not even access to medical treatment abroad.
A simple Google search on Dr. Adrian Casey would have revealed his profile including his references in the wellington hospital website. However these individuals were actually more interested in continuing with the ridicule and media trial of our client and to go further to create controversies even with his last hope for medical succour. Are they just more interested in ensuring that he must be denied access to medical treatment at all cost?
It should be recalled that the APC and government officials had launched a massive campaign to ridicule, mock and make cruel jokes of Chief Metuh’s appearance on a stretcher and subsequently in a wheelchair in his obedience to the Rulings and Orders of Justice Abang.
These people are quite aware that the learned Judge had ruled that he will no longer accept medical reports from any doctor in Nigeria. On the same day, the Court ordered that Metuh must appear in Court at the next adjourned date and the only clear choice for a bedridden person would be to appear in Court with his hospital bed or in a stretcher.
The clear fact, as evidenced by his MRI report, is that Chief Olisa Metuh has severe spondylosis with disc herniations, cord and nerve root compressions in his Cervical, Thoracic and Lumbosacral spine. This has resulted in semi-paralysis and we have even gone further in open Court to request that the prosecution be allowed to conduct their own independent clinical examination of the person involved.
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Our Client has not left the confines of a hospital or his own bedroom for the past 2 months except to attend Court proceedings. He spent several hours in Court on the 14th of March, 2018 and had to be taken straight to hospital to be sedated with pentadine injection and other strong pain killers. In order to be present in Court on subsequent days (15th and 16th of March 2018) he also had to take the strong pain killer injections early morning before the sittings. This however, resulted in our Client being semi-drowsy on the 15th and 16th and was clearly unable to even observe or follow the proceedings in open Court.
In any case, are these people not aware that it is only in Chief Olisa Metuh’s matter that the issue of release of passport for an accused person has been such an impossibility?
Just last week, a Court released the passport of an accused person being prosecuted by the same EFCC to enable him attend a conference abroad. Others have been allowed to go for medical check- up abroad and even for pilgrimage. The same Court had also granted some other accused persons facing charges the same indulgence being denied Chief Olisa Metuh.
We believe strongly that these media trials are geared towards convincing the public that a man whose charge is that he “reasonably ought to have known” that the money given to him was part of an unlawful activity of another individual who has not even been questioned, investigated or charged is already guilty and convicted even before he has given his evidence in the matter.
Our Client, Chief Olisa Metuh has pleaded not guilty to the charges and has been making his case on his innocence. He has applied the highest level of comportment in showing his respect for our legal system. His only worry remains his plea to be allowed to have a definitive treatment of his worsening ailment. He has suffered humiliation and pain simply by being obedient to court orders.
The fight against corruption does not imply persecution, manifest wickedness and lynch mob approach to particular individuals.
Enough is Enough!
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Signed:
Barr. Benchuks Nwosu
Counsel To Chief Olisa Metuh
