Orji Uzor Kalu to remain in prison as court dismisses bail application

A federal high court on Monday dismissed the bail application for imprisoned former Abia State governor and lawmaker Senator Orji Uzor Kalu.

The court on Thursday, December 5 sentenced Kalu to 12 years imprisonment after being found guilty on all the 39 count charges brought against him.

He was convicted of N7.65billion fraud perpetuated when he was Abia State governor between 1999 and 2007.

Kalu was convicted alongside his firm, Slok Nigeria Limited and his former Abia State director of finance, Ude Udeogu.

But two weeks after his sentencing, Kalu sought post-conviction bail on medical grounds.

The former governor claimed that he had health challenges that could not be managed at the medical facilities in the Custodial Centre, Ikoyi, Lagos and prayed the court to grant him bail.

But his prosecutor, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) opposed his bail application, asking the court to dismiss it.

“Although bail is generally a right of an accused as guaranteed by the Constitution,” EFCC’s lawyer Rotimi Jacobs (SAN) said, “it is not a right available to a convict because the presumption of innocence had crystallised into guilt and conviction.”

The court ruled that the bail application lacked merit.