Nigeria’s quondam president Goodluck Jonathan has been asked to bear witness at the corruption trial of his party’s quondam spokesman, a courtroom was told on Monday.
Olisa Metuh is existence tried on charges of having fraudulently received about 400 1000000 naira ($1.1 million, 945,000 euros) from the then-national safety advisor Sambo Dasuki.
The coin was allegedly used to fund Jonathan’s failed re-election stimulate for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) inwards 2015, which he lost to Muhammadu Buhari.
Metuh’s lawyer, Onyechi Ikpeazu, has already successfully applied for Dasuki to seem every bit a defense forcefulness witness as well as said he would create the same for Jonathan.
“The other witness nosotros desire to subpoena is Goodluck Jonathan, quondam president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” he told the Federal High Court inwards Abuja.
“We wrote him a alphabetic lineament exactly he did non answer as well as our conception volition live on to apply for subpoena afterwards the kickoff application (which compels Dasuki to seem every bit a witness).”
Dasuki is on trial inwards a divide case, defendant of illegally diverting about $2 billion inwards defense forcefulness funds meant to equip Nigeria’s armed services against Boko Haram jihadists.
The coin is alleged to convey been sent to prominent PDP figures.
Dasuki has said Jonathan was aware of the alleged “arms scam”. Metuh’s lawyer said his client, too, was alone acting on Jonathan’s orders.
Ikpeazu has called the quondam president “an indispensable witness” as well as said Metuh should live on acquitted if he is non called to the stand.
“We are maxim the failure to investigate what actually amounts to an alibi is fatal to (the prosecution) case,” Ikpeazu told AFP early on end year.
Dasuki’s lawyer, Ahmed Raji, said inwards Jan 2016: “You cannot verbalise almost this affair without talking almost President Jonathan.”
Jonathan was lauded for conceding the 2015 election as well as every bit Buhari embarked on his promised anti-corruption campaign, the novel president vowed non to settle whatever political scores.
But the PDP has defendant Buhari of conducting a witchhunt every bit most of those implicated inwards anti-corruption cases are senior PDP figures from the previous administration.
They include Jonathan’s married adult woman Patience as well as cousin Robert Azibaola. His quondam crude minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke, is currently on bail inwards London every bit utilisation of an international corruption enquiry.
Jonathan has previously indicated he was prepared to live on questioned exactly declined to comment further, citing concerns almost prejudicing ongoing trials.