Debunking claims that his
corruption case at the court has thawed since he started campaigning for
President Muhammadu Buhari’s re-election, a former governor of Abia state and
chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress,APC, Chief Orji Uzor Kalu has
pointed out that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, is
vigorously prosecuting the case.
In a right of reply to an article
where former presidential spokesman, Segun Adeniyi, allegedly accused him of
“gallivanting” all over the country for Buhari because there is an
“anti-corruption” case against him, the APC stalwart asserted that he has never
asked anyone to intervene on his behalf in the matter before the Federal High
Court in Lagos.
Recall that the EFCC had last
month through its counsel in the corruption case of about N3bn, Mr Rotimi
Jacobs, told the court that it was not deliberately delaying the trial, stating
that, “The case was filed since 2007 and the defendants challenged the
jurisdiction of the court up until 2015, before the Supreme Court made a final
pronouncement on the issue. I cannot be forced to close my case because we need
to bring the facts before the court”.
Kalu, in the article published
Monday on Daily Sun, maintained that he has no apologies for campaigning for
Buhari’s re-election, stating that it is what he believes in and it is his
inalienable right to hold and express an opinion or belief. “I believe that
Buhari’s re-election in 2019 will pave way for president of Igbo extraction in
2023!” he said.
Part of the essay reads, “How can
a man who has been in court for 11 years, and whose case is still being
vigorously prosecuted and a robust defence rising up to the challenge, be said
to be doing what he is doing because of alleged corruption charges?
“The truth is, I have never
intervened nor asked anyone to intervene on my behalf in the judicial process.
I remain a firm believer in the rule of law and would rather the judicial
process was fully exhausted in this matter. I am convinced I haven’t stolen a
dime while I was in government. I believe many people, including Segun, know
that I am being persecuted for my principled and dogged stance against former
President Olusegun Obasanjo’s evil third term agenda.
“On my ongoing matter with the
EFCC, that matter is still being prosecuted and it would be sub judice to speak
extensively on it. However, I would like to state that, in criminal
jurisprudence, cases must be proved beyond reasonable doubt to achieve
conviction. Until that is achieved, I remain a bona fide free citizen of
Nigeria and as such free to enjoy my right of association, right to free
movement and right to hold opinion, no matter how contrary.
“I have also not interfered with
the on-going trial and at no point has my trial been adjourned because I was
not available in court. If you check the records of court, I have always been
present to face trial. I even had to cut short my business trips to be in
court. So, to make insinuations, like Segun did, is akin to attempting to force
the hand of court. It also represents an effort to blackmail me to silence.”
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EFCC is one. Two, he assumes that he will be the first Igbo elected President. Either way he's a dreamer.
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