Success Nwankwo
The Federal Government’s attempt to start a new prosecution of Orji Uzor Kalu, the former governor of Abia State, in the ₦7.6 billion fraud and money laundering case against him has been rejected by the Court of Appeal in Abuja.
Justice Joseph Oyewole’s ruling stated that the federal government’s appeal record was untrustworthy and inept, making it impossible for any court to rely on it to approve the government’s motion.
According to Justice Oyewole, no one well-known to the law assembled, certified, or signed the appeal record.
It was gathered that, the former governor of Abia State, who is currently a senator representing Abia North, was sentenced to 12 years in prison by a Federal High Court on December 5, 2019, for embezzling large sums of money from the state’s Treasury.
However, the Supreme Court invalidated and overturned the High Court’s decision, citing Justice Mohammed Idris’s elevation to the rank of Justice of the Court of Appeal as justification.
According to the ruling of the Supreme Court, which was delivered by Justice Ejembi Ekwo, Justice Mohammed Idris cannot serve as both a Federal High Judge and a Justice of the Court of Appeal at the same time.
He then gave the Federal High Court Chief Judge an order to transfer the case to a different judge for a new trial.
But Kalu returned to the Federal High Court and got a ruling that forbade the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) from bringing new charges against the outgoing governor.
Judge Inyang Edem Ekwo, who imposed the prohibition order on the EFCC, claimed that the Supreme Court’s ruling did not specifically mention Orji Uzor Kalu.
Due to the Federal Government’s inability to provide accurate records of the High Court’s proceedings, the appeal against the verdict was dismissed.