Just In: Court Strikes Out 2 FG Appeals Against Orji Kalu

• The federal government has again been stopped by the Court of Appeal in Abuja from revisiting the trial of Senator Orji Kalu
• According to the judgment by the Court of Appeal on Wednesday, the two appeals by the federal government were incompetent
• The appeals were against the judgment by Justice Inyang Ekwo of the federal high court in September 2021, which stopped the government from further prosecuting Kalu and his firm, Slok Nigeria, for money laundering

The Court of Appeal in Abuja has struck out an appeal by the federal government against an order of the Federal High Court, Abuja, prohibiting it from reopening the trial of former Abia governor Orji Kalu and his firm, Slok Nigeria Ltd on money laundering charges.

In two judgments on Wednesday, a three-member panel of the appellate court held that the two appeals filed by the federal government were incompetent.

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Why court striked out FG's appeal against Kalu

Justice Joseph Oyewole, who authored and read the lead judgments in both appeals, upheld the objection raised by Kalu (now a serving senator) and Slok, Vanguard reported.

The court found that the appeal records in both cases were not properly compiled and certified as required under the Court of Appeal's Rules and Section 104 of the Evidence Act.

The court held that even if the breach of the court's rule was to be overlooked, the court could not close its eyes to the non-compliance with the mandatory provision of the Evidence Act.

Details of FG appeal against Kalu

The court noted that the official of the trial court who certified the records did not indicate their designation as required by the Evidence Act.

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Lawyer to the federal government, Oluwaleke Atolagbe, said with the court's decision, the appellant will refile new appeals to enable the appellate court to deal with the substance of the case.

The appeals were against the September 29, 2021 judgment by Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court in Abuja prohibiting the federal government from further prosecuting Kalu and Slok following an earlier judgment of the Supreme Court voiding the proceedings leading to their earlier trial and conviction.

Reaction trails alleged plots to remove Kalu

Legit.ng earlier reported that Richard Ngene, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and former lawmaker in the Enugu State House of Assembly, dismissed allegation that Godswill Akpabio, the president of the Senate, was planning to remove Kalu from the red chamber.

Ishaku Abbo, the senator representing Adamawa North in the Upper Chamber, raised the alarm while addressing a press conference last week when the court of appeal sacked him as a lawmaker from the Adamawa North Senatorial District.

Source: Legit.ng