Metuh Goes to appeal court over denial of medical treatment abroad

Former national publicity secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Olisa Metuh, has filed an appeal at the Appeal Court, challenging the refusal of the lower court to enable him travel abroad for medical treatment.  

The Federal High Court had declined Metuh’s application for the release of his International Passport to enable him travel to a London hospital for a scheduled surgery.  

In an appeal No. CA/A/451C/2018, dated and filed on May 14, this year, the appellant complained that the presiding Judge, Justice Okon Abang, “manifested obvious bias” against him by failing to exercise his discretion judicially and judiciously when he dismissed his application based on “imaginary facts not borne out of the facts” in the application, thereby occasioning a miscarriage of justice.

He also complained that Justice Abang erred in law and misdirected the court by dismissing his application on unfounded claims that he has been employing delay tactics to frustrate proceedings.  

He averred that all the adjournments granted in the matter were in accordance with provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act and after due consideration of all the facts of the matter.  

The appellant further complained that Justice Abang strayed away from the application before the court and accused him of acting a script, using illness, to frustrate early conclusion of the trial and having a hidden agenda and without any evidence, relied on them to dismiss his application.  

Metuh, who is facing a N400 million money laundering charge, had on several occasions, been on admission in various hospitals in Nigeria over a worsening spinal chord ailment for which doctors had recommended surgery as definitive treatment and referred him to the London hospital since 2016.