Months after leaving prison, Orji Kalu appears in court again over alleged N7.1bn fraud
- It is not yet Uhuru for ex-Abia state governor, Senator Orji Kalu
- This is as he was arraigned before the court by the EFCC over alleged money laundering
- The Senate chief whip was said to have siphoned N7.1 billion from the purse of the Abia government
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For former governor of Abia state Orji Kalu, it is not yet Uhuru as he appeared in court today, Tuesday, February 2, over alleged money laundering.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arraigned Kalu before Justice Inyang Ekwo for the beginning of a fresh trial.
He was said to have siphoned N7.1 billion from the purse of government alongside his company, Slok Nigeria Limited, when he was a governor from 1999 to 2007.
Last year, the Senate chief whip was sentenced to 12-year-jail term after he was found guilty of the allegation levelled against him by the EFCC.
Source: Twitter
However, the Supreme Court, in its judgement on May 8, 2020, quashed the conviction and ordered a retrial of the defendants by the EFCC.
The judgement followed an appeal by Kalu challenging the jurisdiction of the high court that tried the matter and found him guilty of the corruption charges.
Although the initial trial took place in Lagos, Chief Judge of the high court, Justice John Tsoho has however transferred the case-file to Abuja for retrial.
I never said Orji will be president come 2023 - TB Joshua
Meanwhile, TB Joshua, a founder of The Synagogue Church of All Nations, has distanced himself from the media report linking him with a prophecy that Senator Orji Uzor Kalu will become Nigeria's president come 2023.
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The Nigerian televangelist, 57, debunked the media report in a tweet on his official Twitter handle on Monday, December 28.
Kalu, a former governor of Anambra state and current chief whip of the Nigerian Senate, has been rumoured to be eyeing the country's biggest stool.
Although no official confirmation on Kalu's 2023 ambition has been made, the All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain is one of the leading candidates to take the top job should the ruling party zone its presidential ticket to the southeast.
Source: Legit.ng
