After about twelve years of legal tango, the court has fixed December2 for the ruling for the alleged N7.65 fraud leveled against former governor of Abia state, Orji Uzor Kalu and two others.
Orji Kalu is now the senator representing Abia North on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC). He is the Chief Whip of the senate.
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Standing trial with Kalu are Slok Nigeria Limited owned by him and Udeh Udeogu, the then commissioner of finance in Abia state during Kalu’s tenure as governor.
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The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission is prosecuting them in an amended 39-count charge of conspiring and diverting the funds from state coffers.
EFCC had alleged in one of the counts that between 1999 and 2007, the former governor, “did procure Slok Nigeria Limited – a company solely owned by you and members of your family – to retain in its account, domiciled with the then Inland Bank Plc, Apapa branch, Lagos, an aggregate sum of N7,197,871,208.7 on your behalf.
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“Formed part of the funds illegally derived from the treasury of the Abia State Government and which was converted into several bank drafts before they were paid into the said company’s account”
Also Orji was accused of laundering and embezzlement of a sum of N460m from the Abia state government treasury between July and December, 2002
The defence counsel had prayed the court to dismiss the charges ,acquit and discharge their clients.
