ABUJA – The National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, Chief Olisa Metuh, was arrested yesterday morning, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

Metuh was said to have been picked up in his Abuja home by four armed officials of the Commission who came in an unmarked white coloured Toyota Hiace bus and drove to their headquarters where he is currently being quizzed.

Confirming the arrest, Richard Ihediwa, Special Assistant to Mr. Metuh, noted that actual reason for his arrest was yet to be known.

Ihediwa said officials of the EFCC said Metuh had some issues to clear with the commission and that he was only being invited, not arrested.

“Chief Metuh is still being kept at the commission’s headquarters and his lawyers are making frantic efforts to reach him.

“While details of why Chief Metuh was invited is yet to be made pubic by the commission, it could be recalled that severally, Chief Metuh, as the mouthpiece of the opposition party had alerted in various press conferences and statements that he has been under threat and that the ruling party and the government have been very uncomfortable with his stance.

“The latest being the outburst and threats by the National Chairman of the APC, Chief John Oyegun in reaction to Chief Metuh’s criticisms of President Buhari’s widely criticised response on government’s disobedience of court orders, during the last Wednesday’s Presidential Media chat.

“The Office of the National Publicity Secretary will keep the public updated on any development on the issue,” Metuh’s office said.

However, sources volunteered that Metuh, who days ago raised alarm of threat to his life, was allegedly invited concerning “his role in the $2.1 billion arms deal”.

It was learnt that there were documentary evidences showing how Metuh got several millions of naira monthly from the Office of the National Security Adviser and another through a company named Dietras.

It was learnt that detectives of the anti-graft agency probing the $2.1 billion arms contracts have traced N1.4billion to the account of Destra Investment Limited, which might be frozen when the ongoing probe gets to a “convenient bend”.

The Destra Investment Limited was allegedly used to fund PDP’s activities, including its 2015 campaign.

EFCC sources volunteered that the company, which had N6, 676,576.06 as at November 24, 2014, recorded a balance of N1.4billion by last December 2015

Some of the strange deposits in the account we further gathered included N400million from the Office of National Security Adviser (ONSA) on November 24th, 2014; N253million ( December 2 and 4, 2014) from Ibrahim Kabiru whose identity was yet to be confirmed; N91million on December 2, 2014 from Capital Field Investment; and N92million on December 3, 2014 from Etonye Oyintoneife.

Metuh had, on Monday denied that he was invited by the EFCC adding: “if indeed, the report is from the EFCC, then they should note that only in a period of tyranny are people investigated on the pages of the newspapers as a prelude for abuse and violation of their freedom and rights under the law”.

According to him, “it is instructive to observe that a mere media campaign of calumny does not in anyway whatsoever translate to any evidence of guilt. It is rather an evidence of infringement on the rights of the citizenry and manifestation of the reign of tyranny”.

“In a democratic and civilized country, where there are issues that require investigations by such agencies, invitations are duly extended. However, to read daily of people being investigated in select newspapers betrays plots to portray them as guilty of fraud and crime, and targeted to convey the PDP as a corrupt party and the APC as party of Nigerians without sin.

“If we now have a system where citizens get to be investigated, tried and executed by planting stories in select newspapers, wherein then lies the need for our judicial process?

“Finally, we do hope that all concerned will be guided by due process at all times.”