BREAKING: Orji Kalu wins as Appeal Court stops reopening of trial

The Abuja Court of Appeal recently dismissed an appeal lodged by the Federal Government to reopen the trial of former Abia State Governor Orji Uzor Kalu. The court ruled unanimously, with a three-member panel of justices, that the appeal was flawed due to deficiencies in the records provided by the government. Justice J. O. K. Oyewole, delivering the lead verdict, highlighted that the Federal Government failed to adhere to the court’s procedural rules, rendering the entire appeal incompetent. Consequently, the court struck out the two appeals filed against Kalu and his company.

Kalu, who governed Abia State from 1999 to 2007, had previously been convicted and sentenced to a 12-year prison term alongside his company and a former state finance director for allegedly embezzling about N7.1 billion from the state treasury. However, the Supreme Court overturned the conviction of one co-defendant, prompting Kalu’s release from prison.

Following his release, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) sought to retry Kalu, but he contested this, citing double jeopardy and the Supreme Court’s ruling, which did not explicitly order his retrial. Kalu argued against commencing a new trial, emphasizing that the Supreme Court’s decision only pertained to his co-defendant, not himself.

Subsequently, Kalu sought a perpetual injunction to restrain the FG, through the EFCC or its agents, from further attempting to retry him based on the same charges. Justice Inyang Ekwo of the high court granted Kalu’s request in a judgment delivered on September 29, 2021, prohibiting the anti-graft agency from reopening his case.

Unsatisfied with this outcome, the Federal Government filed the appeal that was recently dismissed by the Court of Appeal in Abuja.