The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has vowed to address operational weaknesses following the decision of the Court of Appeal to reject the reopening of the N6.7 billion fraud case against former Abia State governor, Orji Uzor Kalu.
In a ruling delivered by Justice Joseph Oyewole, the Court of Appeal deemed the records provided by the EFCC as unreliable, thereby denying the request for a fresh trial of Kalu. EFCC lawyer, Oluwaleke Atolagbe, expressed the commission’s commitment to rectifying the identified loopholes.
Atolagbe clarified that the court did not delve into the merits of the appeal or the question of whether Kalu and Slok (his company) could be tried. He emphasized that there is still an opportunity to return to the Court of Appeal to resolve the substantive issues after addressing the concerns raised by the court.
Kalu, along with Slok Nigeria Limited and Jones Udeogu, a former Abia State Government House Director of Finance and Accounts, was convicted by the Federal High Court in Lagos on December 5, 2019. Justice Idris Mohammed (now a Justice of the Supreme Court) sentenced Kalu to 12 years in prison, Udeogu to 10 years, and ordered the winding up of Slok Nigeria Limited with its assets forfeited to the Federal Government.
Udeogu filed an appeal against the judgment, arguing that Justice Idris had been elevated to the Court of Appeal when he concluded the trial and delivered the verdict. In a judgment on May 8, 2020, the Supreme Court agreed with Udeogu, nullifying his conviction and declaring unconstitutional the provision of Section 396(7) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015. The Supreme Court directed the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court to assign the case to another judge for a fresh trial.
In June 2020, Kalu sought his release from prison based on the Supreme Court’s judgment. Although the EFCC did not oppose his release, the agency insisted on adhering to the order for a fresh trial.
After his release, Kalu filed a separate suit to prevent the EFCC from retrying him, arguing that the retrial order applied only to Udeogu and not to him, as it would constitute double jeopardy. In a September 29, 2021 judgment, Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court in Abuja ruled in favor of Kalu and halted the EFCC from initiating a fresh trial.
The EFCC, dissatisfied with the ruling, appealed to the Court of Appeal, which, on Wednesday, dismissed the appeal due to insufficient records provided by the EFCC to support their case. Justice Oyewole emphasized that the record of appeal provided by the federal government was deemed incompetent and unreliable by the court, as it did not comply with the legal requirements regarding the identification of the person who compiled, signed, and certified the record.