The Centre For Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership (CACOL) has condemned the Supreme Court’s recent decision discharging former Abia State governor, Orji Uzor Kalu, and ordering a retrial of his 13-year-old corruption case at the Federal High Court, Lagos.
This was contained in a statement issued by Okechukwu Ndiribe, CACOL’s Coordinator for Media Research and Documentation (CMRD) on behalf of the Centre’s Chairman, Debo Adeniran.
The CACOL boss said: “We knew all along that something fishy was happening to Kalu’s case after he joined the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) few years ago.
“That was why we raised the alarm about two years ago when Kalu was given permission to travel abroad and his case adjourned indefinitely at the Federal High Court. “Despite the grave charges he was facing, Kalu was given permission to travel abroad for medical attention, despite the fact that other suspects facing trial for lighter corruption cases were denied the same privilege.”
The CACOL boss alleged that Orji Kalu’s team of lawyers had long ago mastered the act of frustrating the judicial system through the application of various schemes and antics to ensure that the case got stalled or forgotten since they did not have enough evidence to debunk the fraud allegations their client was facing.
READ ALSO: CACOL condemns indefinite adjournment of Kalu’s trial
Adeniran added: “When the judge presiding over Kalu’s case was elevated to the Court of Appeal, we suspected the matter might get stalled till a new judge who would start the case afresh was appointed.
“It was on the basis of this possibility which would have further elongated the trial of the case that we opposed the contemplation of such a move.
“We insisted that the President of the Court of Appeal should exercise the powers conferred on him by the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) to grant Justice Mohammed Idris permission to conclude the trial in line with the spirit of the legislation.”
The CACOL boss said he identified with the views already expressed by Prof. Itse Sagay, chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC) and human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, that the Nigerian ruling class was desperate to prevent Kalu from facing the full wrath of the law.
He maintained that this type of attitude was tantamount to subverting the rule of law and further subjecting the judiciary to ridicule and opprobrium.
