By our correspondent
While there were cheers and thumbs up welcoming the Senate Chief Whip, Orji Uzor Kalu, in the Senate on Tuesday, the prosecuting counsel for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), on Tuesday (today) disclosed that the Commission has done the needful by applying to the Chief Judge (CJ) of the Federal High Court to assign for trial the N7.1 billion fraud charge preferred against the former governor of Abia State, Senator Orji Uzor-Kalu, to a new judge as directed by the Supreme Court in its judgement on May 8.
Rotimi Jacobs (SAN) disclosed that the Commission was presently waiting on the CJ to reassign the N7.1 billion fraud case against the former governor, so that Orji Uzor-Kalu’s fresh trial as directed by the Supreme Court of Nigeria can commence.
Recall that Orji Uzor-Kalu was convicted of the N7.1 billion fraud charge on December 5, 2019 and was subsequently sentenced to 12 years imprisonment.
But in its judgement on May 8, 2020, the Supreme Court nullified the conviction and prison sentence on grounds that Justice Mohammed Idris, who gave the verdict, lacked jurisdiction to preside over the case as he had been elevated to the Court of Appeal and ceased to be a judge of the Federal High Court as of when he delivered the judgment.
The Supreme Court thereafter directed that the trial, which had lasted for 12 years, should start afresh before another judge.
Sequel to the judgement, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, who had been in the prison custody since December last year when Justice Idris delivered the judgment, regained his freedom last week through an order made by Justice Mohammed Liman of the Federal High Court Lagos, Nigeria.
Rotimi Jacobs (SAN) was quoted as saying: “We are not filing new charges. We have applied to the CJ to reassign the case in line with the decision of the Supreme Court. We have yet to see whether it has been assigned.”
According to the 39 counts amended charge filed before the court, the anti-graft agency had alleged that Senator Orji Uzor Kalu diverted N7.1 billion from Abia State treasury while he held sway as the state governor between 1999 and 2007.
The EFCC had further alleged that he “did procure Slok Nigeria Limited – a company solely owned by you and members of your family – to retain in its account, domiciled with the then Inland Bank Plc, Apapa branch, Lagos, an aggregate sum of N7,197,871,208.7 on your behalf.”
.The Punch