Court Revokes Orji Uzor Kalu’s Bail
The presiding judge, Justice Mohammed Idris also ordered the former governor to submit himself and his passport to the Economy and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) within 24 hours after he must have return to the country upon the conclusion of his medical treatment abroad.
Justice Idris,last week Monday gave Kalu a seven days ultimatum to return to Nigeria from Germany, where he was said to have gone for a surgical operation, or risk the revocation of his bail.
However the judge reminded him of the terms of his client bail condition which states that he must deposit his Nigerian International Passport and any other travelling documents that he owned to the court and that he can not travel outside the country without the permission of the court.
Elema told the court that his client travel under an emergency situation, which did not permit him to seek for the court’s permission. But the lawyer did not answer the court’s question of how the accused person got the passport with which he travelled outside the country.
Instead the lawyer pleaded with the court to have mercy on his client and also consider the fact that he had so far conducted himself properly before the court since his trial started in 2007.
“So we urged the court to grant an adjournment for a period of time that would be adequate for him to conclude his rehabilitation,” he stated. .
However, the EFCC counsel, Rotimi Jacobs SAN submitted that when the case was adjourned indefinitely on September 27, 2018 the accused person through his lawyers approached him that their client was sick and he needs to travel outside the country for treatment.
Jacobs said that they agreed that he should go and treat himself but instead of doing so the former governor was engaged in politicking.
He further told the court that , ” The former Governor contested and won his political party’s primary in his home state, so it was his fault that he did not treat himself before the trial resumed.
“Though I later got information that they wrote to the Chairman of the EFCC informing the commission of the trip, if the letter had been brought to my knowledge, I would have advised them to seek the permission of the court as the anti-graft agency does not process the power to grant him leave to travel abroad, ” the lawyer maintained.
In his ruling, Justice Idris declared that although he recognised the right of the accused person to free movement but he is in breach of the term of his bail.
The judge also stated that the action of the accused person can not be accepted by the court as no one is above the law.
He held,” It is not acceptable that someone would break the law and expect that nothing would happen. It is a serious offence for someone to travel outside the country in violation of a valid court order.
“I will allow the accused person to enjoy his treatment without any harassment or intimidation from the court or security agencies but upon his arrival in the country he must submit himself to the EFCC.
“If we must have peace and stability in this country the law must be enforced and the court must not be afraid to enforce the law to ensure sanity in the society.
“So the bail of the accused person is hereby revoked and he must submit himself and his passport to the EFCC at the point of entry until further orders of the court are made.
“The matter is hereby adjourned till January 23, 2019 for continuation of trial.
The EFCC is prosecuting Kalu, his Commissioner for Finance, Udeh Jones Udeogu, and his company, Slok Nigeria Limited on an amended 39 counts
The alleged offences according to the EFCC are contrary to sections 17(c) 16, 14(1)(b)17(a) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2003, and sections 427 of the same Act.
The accused persons pleaded not guilty to the charge
