EFCC Insists On Retrial Of Orji Kalu, Heads To Appeal Court

An application has been instituted at the Appeal Court, Abuja by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) against a lower court verdict that stopped the retrial of Ex-Governor of Abia State, Orji Uzor Kalu and his company, SLOK Nigeria Ltd.

The EFCC is against the judgement and has headed to the Court of Appeal to overturn it.

THE WHISTLER earlier reported on September 29 that Mr Udeogu, an ex- director of finance and accounts to the former governor will be the only one to face criminal retrial by the EFCC on January 11,12, 13, 2022, according to a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja.

The development was based on a judgement delivered by Justice Inyang Ekwo which stopped the federal government and its agencies from retrying Kalu and his company, SLOK Nigeria.

Recall that Kalu, SLOK and Udeogu were co-defendants in a fraud trial instituted by the EFCC in 2007.

The Federal High Court, Lagos where they were tried had found them guilty of diverting public funds and sentenced them to 12 years in prison.

But the Supreme Court ordered that their conviction by the trial court be quashed for lack of jurisdiction and an order was made for the case to be retried at the lower court.

Justice M. Idris who had convicted the Ex-Governor and others was said to have been elevated to the Appeal Court when he sentenced them.

But Kalu and his company had filed a suit asking Justice Inyang Ekwo to make an order “prohibiting the federal government, through the EFCC, its officers, servants, others, agents, privies and any other person or bodies deriving authority from the Federal Republic of Nigeria, from retrying him on charge No. FHC/ABJ/CR/56/2007 between FRN vs Orji Kalu & 2 ors, or any other charge based on the same facts de novo, there being no extant judgment and ruling of a competent court in Nigeria mandating same.”

But EFCC’s lawyer, Rotimi Jacobs SAN, had argued that though the Supreme Court said that the fraud trial of the three parties is a nullity, they were asked to go back to the Federal High Court.

But Justice Inyang Ekwo had observed that the order of the Supreme Court in Appeal No. SC.622C/2019 was filed by Udeogu vs FG and two others.

He had said that the apex court quashed the conviction of the parties and returned the case to the trial court while particularly ordering the retrial of Udeogu , the appellant.

Speaking to our correspondent about the recent suit on Monday, Leke Atolagbe, one of EFCC’s counsel in the case, said that they went to a higher court because they believe that the case was not over.

Atolagbe argued that the bone of contention in Kalu’s case was of jurisdiction and not the allegations levelled against him for which he was convicted.

He added that this was the reason the EFCC is hoping the Appeal Court will look into it.

“We certainly believe and are of the view that the Appeal Court will reverse that decision.

“They (Kalu) themselves agree that it was without jurisdiction and Justice Ekwo referred to those things.

“If they said yes, they agree that the court was not a court of competent jurisdiction, but they cannot say that the new trial will amount to double jeopardy.

“In any case, if they think that the trial will amount to double jeopardy, then they should abide by the earlier trial before Justice Idris; Orji Kalu should go back to prison and serve his terms,” he said.

No date has been fixed for the hearing of the appeal as of the time of this report.