Unbelievable: Kalu Still In Jail

By Adesina Soyooye

Days after the Supreme Court delivered a judgement which everybody thought offered Senator Orji Uzor Kalu freedom from the prison, the former Governor of Abia State and Senate Chief Whip, is still in jail.

In a ruling which attracted commendation and condemnation in equal measure, the Supreme Court had, last Friday, said that the Hon. Justice Mohammed Lima who convicted and sentenced Kalu to a 12-year jail term, had no jurisdiction over the case.

At the time Lima gave the judgement, he had been elevated to the Court of Appeal. But, with a fiat given by the President of the Court of Appeal, Lima went back to the Federal High Court, Lagos,  to deliver the judgement. He was the Judge handling the case before his elevation.

Indeed, Kalu had released a statement immediately after the judgement bemoaning the fate that befell him, but said he had learnt his lesson during his five- month jail term.

So, everybody thought he had been released.

But not true.

Kalu is still in jail.

The Nigeria Correctional Service on Monday,  confirmed that Kalu was still in its custody at its  Kuje facility.

Its spokesperson, Chuks Njoku, revealed: “We have not received any paper; the order was just made on Friday, and we have to get the Warrant of release him from the Court. He would not be released until we get a warrant from the court”

With this, Kalu’s hope of joining his colleagues at the Senate on Tuesday has been dashed.

The former Governor was prosecuted by the EFCC for alleged fraud and corruption to the tune of N7.1 billion when he was the Governor, and his assets at SLOK forfeited to the Federal Government.

The former Director of Finance, Government House, Jones Udeogu, with whom he was jailed, had since been granted bail on health reasons.

He was suffering from a bad case of tuberculosis.