A Lagos High Court has dismissed an application for bail filed by convicted former Abia Governor Orji Kalu pending the outcome of his appeal against his verdict.
Justice Mohammed Idris held that there is no solid ground for granting the application. He discountenanced the grounds of ill-health raised by Kalu, saying that he did not prove that the diseases he mentioned were contagious.
On the grounds that the bail would enable Kalu to represent his constituency in the Senate, the judge held that his constituents knew that he is on trial and still voted him into power.
Arguing a bail application of Jones Udeogo, charged, convicted and jailed along with Kalu, his counsel, S. E. Elema, SAN, urged the court to grant him bail on grounds of ill-health. He said that Udeogo, the Commissioner of Finance in Abia during Kalu’s tenure as the governor, had tuberculosis and cancer.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC Counsel Adebisi Adeniyi, however, opposed the application. The case until January 17 for ruling on the bail application.
