Nigeria: Money Laundering - Kalu Wasting State Funds On Trial-Abia Elders

THE Abia Elders Forum has accused former Abia State Governor, Chief Orji Kalu of wasting state funds on his trial over money laundering at the Federal High Court, Abuja.

The Director of Publicity of the organization, Mr. Uchenna Kalu, said Chief Uzor Kalu had been expending state funds on the battle to free himself from the charges preferred against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

The Forum, therefore, challenged the EFCC and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) to stop Kalu from calling out senior government officials for support as "the charade makes a mockery of the rule of law".

The Forum lamented that each time Kalu appeared in court, hundreds of elected and appointed officials, as well as civil servants would be asked to relocate from Umuahia in apparent show of solidarity but that the true purpose was to mock the judicial process.

"Each appearance costs Abia treasury a conservative estimate of N35 million including airfares, hotel accommodation in choice hotels, overnight allowances, feeding and cost of hiring luxury buses to transport civil servants as cheer leaders.
This act smacks of cynicism, a well orchestrated plan to ridicule the trial process and make it appear as if Abia people are sympathetic to the accused.

"This is far from the truth and a deliberate misrepresentation of the reality. Our Igbo traditional and religious morality recoils at stealing regardless of how the act is done. In the past a person accused of stealing was carried through the market square and his disgraced family cowered in shame and contrition.

Modernisation has not removed the stain of dishonour from the incidence of theft in our midst hence we expect former governor Kalu as an accused person fighting to clear his name to humble himself before the law and desist from acts of provocation," the group said.

Chief Kalu appeared before the court on Wednesday whith a large crowd of supporters. "Already Abia State is broke and bleeding from the rapacious plundering of its monthly allocations and internally generated revenue resulting in workers and pensioners being owed salaries while our people are sinking deeper into poverty everyday," the group claimed.