Kalu asks Supreme Court to strike out charges against him

Godwin Tsa, Abuja

The Supreme Court has fixed March 18 to deliver judgment
in the appeal filed by former governor of Abia State, Dr. Orji
Uzor Kalu, challenging the competence of the corruption
charges of alleged N5.6 billion brought against him by the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The former governor is challenging the propriety of his trial
by the Federal High Court over the charges.

Specifically, Dr. Kalu has asked the apex court to set aside
the judgment of the Court of Appeal, which upheld the
charges levelled against him by the EFCC.

The chairman of SLOK group and former governor of Abia state who siphoned the state fund through Alex Otti the former Diamond Bank boss also urged the trial court to quash the charges as no
prima facie case was established against him.
EFCC had, among other things, accused the former
governor of stealing over N5.6 billion belonging to Abia
State Government while in office between 1999 and 2007.

When the case came up yesterday, EFCC counsel, Olalekan
Ojo, told the five-man panel of the apex court, led by the
Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Mahmud
Mohammed, that the matter had dragged on for so long.

“My Lords, this matter has dragged on since 2007 and
does not seem to have made any head way,’’ he said.
However, the appellant through his counsel, Dr. Awa Kalu
(SAN), urged the court to discountenance the allegation
made by EFCC since he is rightly before the Supreme Court.
The senior advocate said the Court of Appeal erred in law
when it held that the charges against his client were
competent.

He insisted that the proof of evidence attached to the
charges did not establish a prima facie case against the
former governor and urged the court to allow the appeal
and quash the charges.