N7.1bn Fraud Case: Appeal Court Clears FG to Proceed Against Orji Kalu

The Appeal Court has granted the Federal Government permission to move forward with its case against former Abia State governor Orji Kalu over alleged N7.1 billion fraud.

The Court of Appeal in Abuja has allowed the Federal Government to challenge a decision that had earlier prohibited the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) from resuming the trial of Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, former Governor of Abia State.

In two distinct rulings issued by a panel of three justices, the appellate court granted an extension for the government to appeal against the Federal High Court’s September 29, 2021 decision in Abuja that prevented Kalu’s retrial.

Kalu, the former governor of Abia State from 1999 to 2007 and current senator representing Abia North, was originally convicted by the Federal High Court in Lagos and given a 12-year prison sentence. He was found guilty along with his company, Slok Nigeria Limited, and Jones Udeogu, a former finance director for Abia State, due to allegations of misappropriating N7.1 billion from state funds.

The Supreme Court, however, overturned Udeogu’s conviction and mandated a retrial. They cited that Justice Mohammed Idris, who presided over the initial trial, had been promoted to the Court of Appeal and thus no longer had jurisdiction over the case.

Following this ruling, Kalu, who had already started serving his sentence, pursued his release from prison. Soon after he was released, the EFCC made an attempt to re-arraign him along with his co-defendants.

Kalu contested the retrial, claiming it would place him in “double jeopardy.” His legal team stated, “The indisputable principle of law is that once an individual has been tried and either found guilty or cleared of charges, they should not be prosecuted for the same offense again unless directed by a competent court.”

On September 29, 2021, Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court made a ruling in favor of Kalu, preventing the EFCC from continuing with the case.

The Federal Government subsequently appealed the decision; however, on March 6, 2024, the appellate court stopped the retrial due to procedural flaws in the prosecution’s submitted records.

Unhappy with the decision, the Federal Government appealed to the Supreme Court. On Friday, the Supreme Court ruled in its favor. Justice Ishaq Sanni delivered the judgment and rejected Kalu’s legal team’s objections, noting that their previous arguments were based on technicalities rather than addressing the core issues of the case.

The Supreme Court also decided that the Federal Government had valid reasons for requesting an extension to file its appeal, since the three-month deadline for submission had already passed. The court gave the government an additional 14 days to submit its notice of appeal, which could potentially revive the case against the former governor.