On Friday, the Court of Appeal in Abuja approved the Federal Government’s request to challenge a prior ruling that prevented the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) from reopening the trial of former Abia State Governor, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu.
The appellate court granted the government an extension to file processes aimed at overturning a September 29, 2021 ruling by the Federal High Court that had barred the EFCC from prosecuting Kalu, who was earlier convicted and sentenced to 12 years in prison for embezzling approximately N7.1 billion.Kalu’s conviction was quashed by the Supreme Court due to jurisdictional issues related to the original trial judge, and upon his subsequent release, the EFCC sought to retry him.
Kalu filed suits arguing that retrial would subject him to “double jeopardy,” citing that his earlier conviction had been nullified.
The Supreme Court ultimately determined that the lower court’s decision to halt the EFCC’s move was based on technical grounds rather than substantive merit, thus allowing the government to proceed with a new appeal within 14 days.
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