Court Rejects Ex-Gov Kalu’s Attempt to Block FG’s Appeal in Fraud Case

On Friday, former Abia State Governor Orji Uzor Kalu was unsuccessful in his bid to stop the Federal Government from appealing a court decision from 2021 that stopped his prosecution in a suspected money laundering case worth ₦7.1 billion.
The Court of Appeal’s three-member panel rejected Kalu and Slok Nigeria Limited’s arguments against the Federal Government’s request for an out-of-time appeal, which was submitted through the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
According to Kalu and Slok, the Court of Appeal had no further jurisdiction over the matter because it had already rejected a previous appeal by the Federal Government on March 6, 2024.

But the ruling’s author, Justice Ishaq Sanni, explained that the March 6 decision was dismissed for technical reasons relating to the certification of court documents rather than the case’s merits.

The Federal Government has the authority to request an extension of time, according to Justice Sanni, because the verdict was given after the three-month timeframe for an appeal had passed.

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The court granted the motion, enabling the government to submit its notice of appeal against the Federal High Court’s September 29, 2021 ruling.

The notice of appeal must be submitted by the Federal Government within 14 days, the court further said.

Both CA/ABJ/PRE/ROA/CV/431MI/2024 (FRN v. Slok Nigeria Limited & two others) and CA/ABJ/PRE/ROA/CV/430MI/2024 (FRN v. Orji Uzor Kalu & two others) are affected by the decision.