BY Mansur Ibrahim
On Friday, the supreme court nullified the judgement which convicted Orji Uzor Kalu, former governor of Abia state and Ude Udeogu, a former director of finance and account at government house, Abia.
A federal high court in Lagos had handed a 12-year jail sentence to Kalu and sentenced Udeogu to prison for 10 years.
The assets of Slok Nigeria Limited, Kalu’s company, were also forfeited to the federal government.
But displeased with the judgement, Udeogu filed an appeal to challenge the conviction. His lawyers argued that Mohammed Idris, the judge who handed down the ruling, lacked the jurisdiction to hear the case because he had been elevated to the appeal court at the time he sentenced them to prison.
The apex court, in a unanimous verdict on the appeal delivered by Ejembi Eko, declared that the conviction of the appellant was null and void.
Eko explained that the declaration was on the ground that Idris was already a judge of the court of appeal, as at the time he delivered the judgment sentencing the appellants.
Click here to download the full judgement.
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