Chief Whip of the 9th senate, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu has been released from Kuje Custodial Centre, Abuja where he was serving a 12-year sentence following an order to that effect by the Federal High Court in Lagos.
Justice Mohammad Liman of the Federal High Court in Lagos ordered the release of Kalu on Tuesday following his conviction last December for alleged looting of N7.65b belonging to Abia.
The judge ordered his immediate release after his lead counsel, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN) moved the application seeking his release.
The former Abia state governor was released around 7:30pm.
Kalu’s lawyers said the Senator representing Abia North Senatorial District was released without delay as soon as the order of court was served on the custodial officials.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) did not oppose the application.
Consequently, Justice Mohammad Liman granted the application as moved. Although the Supreme Court had on May 8 nullified Kalu’s trial alongside Ude Jones Udeogu and his company, Slok Nigeria Ltd, he was not permitted to benefit from the judgement because he was not the applicant.
As a result, Kalu filed a separate application dated May 12, 2020 before the Federal High Court in Lagos asking the court to set aside his trial, conviction and sentence for 12 years imprisonment on 39-count charges of money laundering to the tune of N7.6 billion when he was governor between 1999 and 2007.
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")