Finally, Ex-Governor To Face Trial, 9 yrs After

The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, today, granted the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) prayers to arraign Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu on May 16 for the alleged crimes he committed as Governor of Abia State between 1999 and 2007.

Kalu who was hitherto answering to a 107-count corruption charges, would enter fresh plea to an amended 112-count charge dated ‎February 11, 2008.

Trial Justice ‎Anwuli Chikere granted EFCC the leave to re-arraign the former governor after she was furnished with judgment of the Supreme Court, which on March 18, ‎held that the defendant has a criminal case to answer.

Kalu would be arraigned alongside his firm Slok Nigeria Limited and his alleged accomplice Mr. Udeh Jones Udeogu.

The EFCC’s lawyer Mr.Oluwa Leke Atolagbe, however applied for an adjournment to enable the agency to effectively “prepare‎ for the case”, and this was not opposed by‎ Kalu’s lawyer, Chief Awa Kalu, SAN, and same for the lawyer of 2nd and 3rd defendants, Chief Solomon Akuma, SAN.

Basically, the charge against the defendants bordered on money laundering and illegal diversion of public funds to the tune of N5.6 billion.

The fraud was allegedly perpetuated while Kalu held sway as the governor of Abia State between 1999 and 2007. Though the former governor was initially docked before the high court on July 27, 2007, however, for the past eight years, through various interlocutory applications, he has frustrated moves by the anti-graft to open its case against him.

Th ex-governor had challenged the competence of the charge against him, as well as the jurisdiction of the High Court to hear and determine the case, but following refusal by the trial court to quash the charge, Kalu, took the case before the Court of Appeal in Abuja.

The appellate court, in a unanimous judgment, upheld the competence of the charge, adding that the high court was constitutionally empowered to exercise jurisdiction on the trial. Dissatisfied with the verdict, Kalu approached the Supreme Court, begging it to set-aside the concurrent findings of the two lower courts.

The former governor, through his lawyer Chief Kalu, SAN, pleaded a five-man panel of Justices of the apex court, headed by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Justice Mahmud Mohammed, to quash the criminal charge against him.

He contended that the EFCC failed to establish a prima-facie nexus linking him to the ingredients of the offence contained in the charge. It was his contention that the proof of evidence the anti-graft agency adduced against him did not nail him to the commission of any crime.

Nevertheless, the apex court, in a unanimous judgment on March 18, dismissed the appeal, even as it ordered the appellant to go and face his trial before the high court.