The ninth senate’s chief whip, Orji Kalu, broke down in tears when making the following declaration: “I am not a thief” during the closing session on Saturday.
The former governor of Abia and Ude Jones Udeogu, a former director of finance and accountant in the state, had been charged by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) with 36 counts of money laundering totaling N7.1 billion.
On December 5, 2019, Orji Kalu received a sentence of 12 years in jail while Udeogu received a term of 10 years.
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The trial of Kalu and his co-defendant was eventually declared invalid by the supreme court.
The apex court held that Mohammed Idris, the trial judge who had been elevated to the court of appeal at the time of the case, ought not to have presided over the matter while he was an appeal court judge.
No fresh charges have been preferred against him.
Orji Kalu said before he ventured into politics, he was wealthy and played a critical role financially in the formation of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
“Before I came into politics, I could buy anything money can buy. I’m not a thief,” he said in tears.
Those that put me in prison know the reason. They took over my businesses and wanted to kill me yet I survived it and I’m in the senate with you.
I have never lacked. While I was in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) where I served for two terms as governor, I brought the money that they used in forming that party, every penny, in 1997 and 1998, and I later became a thief.
People I gave transport money from my house in VI became agents. This is what Nigeria represents. Thank you for giving me these four years of uninterrupted support.
This country is not fair.
