It is no longer news that convicted former governor of Abia State, Orji Kalu who represents Abia North in the senate, had his fraud conviction of Dece
It is no longer news that convicted former governor of Abia State, Orji Kalu who represents Abia North in the senate, had his fraud conviction of December 2019, upturned yesterday by a seven man panel of judges led by Justice Ejembi Eko, at the Supreme Court on the ground that, Justice Mohammed Idris, the Judge that convicted him had before the conclusion of the multi-billion naira corruption trial, been elevated to the Court of Appeal.
What is however news is that documents have now emerged which reveal that the businessman who was convicted alongside a finance director while he was governor and one of his companies, Slok Nigeria Limited, through which he siphoned the billions of naira meant for Abia State, personally requested that Judge Idris be allowed to conclude his case notwithstanding his elevation to the Court of Appeal.
In a letter from Kalu’s Lawyer, Gordy Uche (SAN) to the Court of Appeal President, Kalu requested that Justice M.B Idris be allowed to conclude the trial and relied on section 396 (7) of Administration of criminal Justice Act 2015. In the letter, Kalu claimed that starting the matter afresh will cause untold hardship on all parties. The Court of Appeal President granted Kalu’s prayer and Justice Idris concluded his trial and handed him a 12 years jail term.
In a rather shocking twist, Kalu then turns around and filed an appeal against his conviction by questioning the constitutionality of the same law which he relied on in his letter to the court of Appeal President. And as luck would have it, the supreme court agreed with him and quashed his conviction.
Below is Kalu’s letter to the Court of Appeal.
