.jpeg "Case of alleged N7.1 billion fraud: Appeal court throws out EFCC's request for Orji Kalu's new trial")
Channels TV says that in a judgment delivered today March 6. A judge named Joseph Oyewole said that the federal government's appeal record was not good enough for any court to use to give the government's request. The judge in charge also said that the record of appeal was not put together, signed, and approved by a person known to the law.
He also said that the name of the person who put together, signed, and stamped the record was missing, which is against the law.
While he was governor of Abia State, the man who is now a senator for Abia North was jailed for 12 years by a Federal High Court on December 5, 2019, for stealing huge amounts of money from the state's Treasury.
That being said, the Supreme Court threw out the High Court's decision because the judge who made it, Justice Mohammed Idris, was already a Justice of the Court of Appeal after being promoted.
In the Supreme Court decision written by Justice Ejembi Ekwo, it was said that Justice Mohammed Idris cannot be both a Federal High Judge and a Justice of the Court of Appeal.
After that, he told the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court to switch the case to a different judge for a new hearing.
But Kalu went back to the Federal High Court and got an order telling the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) that they couldn't bring new charges against the former governor.
When the ban was put on the EFCC, Justice Inyang Edem Ekwo said that Orji Uzor Kalu was not specifically mentioned in the Supreme Court's decision.
The Federal Government's appeal against the High Court's ruling was thrown out because the right records of the High Court's proceedings could not be found.