Court orders EFCC to prosecute Orji Kalu over N5.6bn embezzlement scandal

The Supreme Court has given the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, the go ahead to prosecute the former Governor of Abia State, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu on a 107-count corruption charge.

The ex-governor reportedly diverted N5.6billion while serving as the governor of Abia State between 1999 and 2007, Vanguard reports.

Recall that the anti-graft agency had docked Kalu before the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court on July 27, 2007.

Kalu, approached the Court of Appeal in Abuja but the appellate court, in a unanimous judgment, threw out his case on the ground that the High Court was constitutionally empowered to exercise jurisdiction on the trial.

Angered by the verdict, Kalu approached the Supreme Court, praying it to set-aside the concurrent findings of the two lower courts.

The former governor, through his lawyer, Chief Awa Kalu, SAN, pleaded a five-man panel of Justices of the apex court, headed by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Justice Mahmud Mohammed, to quash the criminal charge against him.

According to him, the EFCC failed to establish a prima-facie nexus linking him to the ingredients of the offence contained in the charge.

However, the Supreme Court in a unanimous judgment on Friday, dismissed the appeal.

Delivering the judgment, Justice Suleiman Galadima, ordered the appellant to go and face his trial before the High Court.

He said the apex court was satisfied that the former governor has a case to answer pertaining to allegations that were levelled against him by the EFCC.

Besides, the apex court ordered the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Ibrahim Auta, to re-assign the case to another Judge to enable the trial to commence de-novo (afresh).

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