Following the invalidation of the trial of the former governor of Abia State, Uzor Kalu and Jones Udeogu, former Director of Finance and Account of the state, which found the duo guilty of stealing N7.1 billion from Abia State and sentenced them to 12-year imprisonment, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has said it would begin afresh a trial, immediately.
Recall that in the early hours of Friday, a seven-man panel of justices of the Supreme court led by Justice Bode Rhodes-Vivour unanimously agreed in a ruling read by Justice Ejembi Eko, that the Federal High Court in Lagos, which convicted Kalu, his firm, Slok Nigeria Limited, and Udeogu, acted out of jurisdiction, consequently, nullifying the judgment and ordering a fresh trial.
The supreme court said having been elevated to the Court of Appeal, Mohammed Liman was no longer a judge at the Federal High Court in Lagos when he sentenced the defendants to 12-year imprisonment for allegedly stealing N7.1 billion from Abia State’s coffers.
The EFCC said in a statement that it was “set for fresh and immediate trial of the case because its evidence against Kalu and others is overwhelming.” It described the apex court’s judgment as “unfortunate and a technical ambush against the trial of the former governor.”
“The corruption charges against Kalu still subsist because the Supreme Court did not acquit him of them. The entire prosecutorial machinery of the EFCC would be launched in a fresh trial where justice is bound to be served in due course,” the EFCC stated.
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