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Three days after the voiding of the conviction of former Governor of Abia State, Mr. Orji Uzor Kalu, he is yet to be released from Kuje Prison.

Real-Time24 gathered that the refusal by the Nigeria Correctional Service to release Kalu is because the judgment of the Supreme Court did not affect his release.

The former governor it was learnt may have to approach the Court of Appeal, where he has a pending matter, to request for his release following the dismissal of the judgment of the Federal High Court, Lagos by the Apex court.

The Supreme Court judgment it was gathered only covers the Appellant Ude Udeogu, a former Director of Finance and Account at the Abia State Government House, who challenged the propriety of a Court of Appeal Judge, Justice Mohammed Idris to try him.

A seven-man panel of the Supreme Court Friday, May 8, 2020, nullified the judgment which convicted the former Governor of Abia State, Orji Uzor Kalu.

Justice Mohammed Idris of the Federal High Court in Lagos had sentenced Senator Kalu to 12 years imprisonment in his judgement delivered on April 24, 2019.

He had also sentenced Mr Udeogu to 10 years imprisonment on the same day.

Displeased with the judgement of the Federal High Court, Kalu and Udeogu filed an appeal to challenge their sentencing at the Supreme Court.

The apex court, in a unanimous verdict on the appeal delivered by Justice Ejembi Eko, declared that the conviction of the appellants was null and void.

The apex court, therefore, ordered the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court to reassign the case for trial.


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