Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, a Lagos-based lawyer has decided to withdraw the suit he filed to challenge the continued detention of Olisa Metuh, the national publicity secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party.
On January 5, Metuh was arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for allegedly benefiting from the $2.1bn arms funds allegedly diverted by Sambo Dasuki, a former national security adviser and he has been in detention ever since.
On Monday, Adegboruwa had filed a suit at the Federal High Court for the immediate release of Metuh, arguing that fundamental rights enshrined in sections 33, 34, 35, 38, 40, 41, 42, 43 and 44 of the Constitution were being violated.
However, in a statement made available to The Punch today, January 14, Adegboruwa said he had reviewed the situation and had filed a notice to the court to discontinue the suit.
According to him, since he filed the suit, he has been getting calls from colleagues, friends and well-wishers, some commending and encouraging him, some criticising him, and some seeking to know if he was against President Muhammadu Buhari’s fight anti-corruption war.
Explaining that he was not against the anti-corruption war, he said his reason for filing the suit was in his unwavering belief that the rule of law must be obeyed.
“The truth is that I have never met Chief Metuh before and I did not receive a dime from him, or from anyone else, to file the suit. I did so based upon my conviction, that it was wrong to arrest a citizen of Nigeria, lock him up in custody and be boasting that he will not be released or charged to court.
“My intervention on behalf of Chief Metuh, is not to shield him from his trial, if found wanting, but rather that as the voice of the opposition in Nigeria, he should not be cowed or silenced, without following due process.
“Through Chief Metuh, Nigerians have had the benefit of hearing the other side of the sweet stories of change, that the Buhari regime has been feeding us with,” he said.
Adegboruwa added that he was not a close friend of Metuh and he later discovered that he himself had earlier filed a similar suit in Abuja.
Two days ago, lawmakers on the platform of the PDP, in the House of Representatives ordered the EFCC to release the party’s spokesman within 48 hours.
Metuh 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.
