The Federal High Court, Abuja has fixed July 13 for hearing in a suit filed by Slok Nigeria Limited, a company belonging to ex-Abia governor Senator Orji Kalu, against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The plaintiff is seeking court order restraining the EFCC from retrial in the N7.1 billion fraud case involving the firm and its chairman (Kalu).
Justice Inyang Ekwo fixed the date on Monday and also gave counsel to the plaintiff, Marvel Akpoyibo, seven days to serve his processes on the respondents.
The EFCC is the first respondent, Kalu, and former director of finance in Abia, Jones Udeogu, are the second and third respondents respectively.
The anti-graft agency had preferred a 36-count charge against Kalu and Udeogu in 2007.
While the former governor bagged 12 years imprisonment in December 2019, Udeogu was sentenced to 10 years in prison on December 5, 2019.
However, the Supreme Court on May 8, 2020, voided the trial after an appeal filed by Kalu’s co-defendant.
The Supreme Court nullified the trial on the grounds that Mohammed Idris, the trial judge, had no jurisdiction to hear the matter after he was elevated to the Court of Appeal.
Based on the apex court’s verdict, the EFCC, which prosecuted the case, asked the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja to transfer the corruption retrial of Kalu and others to the Lagos division of the court.
But the company’s counsel, Akpoyibo, in an exparte application on Monday, told Justice Ekwo that he had a motion seeking “an Order of Prohibition prohibiting the Federal Republic of Nigeria through the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, her agents, her officers, servants, privies and any other person or bodies deriving authority from the Federal Republic of Nigeria from retrying the applicant on charge No. FHC/ABJ/CR/56/07 or any other charge based on the same facts.”
Kalu is also seeking prohibition of the retrial in a separate suit.
