The Court of Appeal on Wednesday approved the dismissal of the no-case submission filed by Senator-elect Orji Kalu in response to the N7.65bn fraud charges filed against him by Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Justice Mohammed Idris of a Federal High Court in Lagos had on July 31, 2018 dismissed Kalu’s no-case submission and ordered him to put in his defence.
The panel led by Justice M.L. Garba said the Federal High Court was right in dismissing Kalu’s submission.
The Appeal Court also dismissed appeals filed by Kalu’s co-defendants – Slok Nigeria Limited and Ude Udeogu – challenging the jurisdiction of Justice Idris to continue hearing the case after being elevated to the Court of Appeal.
It then ordered the defendants to return to the high court to put in their defence.
Kalu had since been expected to open his defence after the prosecution, in 2018, finally closed its case in the 12-year-old trial.
