A former Abia State Governor, Orji Kalu, has breathed the air of freedom following his release from Kuje Custodial Centre by the Nigeria Correctional Service on Wednesday.
This was in obedience to the Tuesday order of a Federal High Court in Lagos.
The NCoS spokesman, DCC Austin Njoku, who confirmed the development, said the senator was freed at 5:05 pm.
He said, “Ex-governor Orji Kalu was released from custody at exactly 5:05 pm on Wednesday. He was discharged after we received the court warrant on his release.”
Kalu was jailed for 12 years on December 5, 2019, after he was convicted of N7.1 billion fraud alongside his firm, Slok Nigeria Ltd., and a former Director of Finance in Abia State, Jones Udeogu.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had arraigned Kalu and Ude Jones Udeogu, a former director of finance and account of Abia state on 36 counts of money laundering to the tune of N7.1 billion and they were jailed in December.
On May 8, the supreme court nullified the trial of Kalu’s co-convict.
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.
On Tuesday, a federal high court in Lagos ordered the release of Kalu.