It was really a challenging task to try to unravel what could have happened in the case of Orji Uzor Kalu that suddenly landed him in prison on December 5, 2019. I had been virtually neutral or indifferent over OUK until he was convicted and jailed. I had already forgotten that he was facing a trial. But once convicted, I decided to analyze his case.
I was shocked by the following discoveries:
1) Justice Mohammed Idris who convicted OUK was already promoted to the court of appeal and he had been sworn in as a Court of Appeal judge before he started taking evidence in the case of OUK. Many people will think that Idris was already in the middle of the case when he got promoted to the court of appeal and he was only trying to finish what he had started. But no! Idris had not started the case when he was promoted. It was after his elevation that he started the case and began to rush it. Why? Why?
2) Justice Kolawole was another Federal High Court judge that was promoted to Court of Appeal at the same time as Idris. Kolawole was asked if he would continue with Federal High Court cases assigned to him. He declined, saying that it would not be constitutional for him to be a Court of Appeal Justice and be hearing a High Court case. Would he be signing as Kolawole J (as he had ceased to be) or as Kolawole JCA (as he had since become). Kolawole did what was right because he had no interest in any case. Idris did the opposite because he had a personal interest in Orji Uzor Kanu’s case.
3) Justice Idris is the rogue judge determined to nail OUK at all cost and he was ready to violate the constitution to achieve that outcome. (And now look at what he did to OUK and to the country. He wrongfully put a man in jail for 6 months (which is equivalent of 9 months by prison calendar). He destroyed businesses and many peoples employment. He wasted the time and resource of the Supreme Court spent to correct his mess).
4) When Idris insisted on continuing with OUK case after his promotion to the court of appeal, an objection was raised. But he stubbornly insisted. Why?
5) As a court of appeal judge, you do not get any new credit for any case you go back to handle at the High Court. Why would Idris be wasting his time with a High Court case that could not be recorded toward his future credit? Because he was a rogue on a mission.
Then I looked closely at Orji Uzor Kalu. I saw he was a perfect target for the worst kind of manipulation.
(a) OUK was a viable presidential candidate if rotational politics allocated the presidency to the Igbos.
(b) OUK is the only Igbo man with a newspaper (Sun) that is nationwide. This is a strategic asset. I was not surprised when justice Idris targeted Sun Newspaper for destruction.
(c) OUK is one of the richest Igbo men. Ibeto is rich, but nowhere as rich. Emeka Offor is rich, but lacks OUK’s strategic political powers. Innoson is rich, but constantly vulnerable to harassment and intimidation by the EFCC and Customs. OUK was the one that needed to be contained and this case was the perfect opportunity and Justice Idris was the rogue to do the dirty job.
(d) Of all Igbo politicians, OUK has the greatest level of support from the Northern part of Nigeria, making him a more viable presidential candidate.
(e) This appeal that was decided on May 8 was an interlocutory appeal filed in 2018 when Idris refused to recuse himself from the case. (Many people, including people you thought would know better assumed that this was an appeal against his conviction in December of of 2019. No, this was an interlocutory appeal filed in 2018 against Idris’ insistence that he must remain the judge even after the Constitution disqualified him.
(f) When the appeal landed in Court of Appeal, the Court of Appeal declined to hear the appeal. They kicked it up to the Supreme Court. Why? Why? So, I knew this was an important appeal. Of course, Judge Idris went ahead to convict OUK and to target his businesses. If the issue was just 7.6 billion naira, why not allow the company to just pay it, since companies don’t go to jail? But the judge wanted not only to jail OUK, but to also cripple his business empire such that if he eventually won on appeal, it would be of no use to him.
When I looked at all this, I carefully reviewed the case and I analyzed the 7-man panel of supreme court justices to sit on the appeal. I knew that the interests that controlled Justice Idris would not be enough to control those 7 Supreme Court justices. I also knew that after so many problems last year and this year, the Supreme Court was facing an image or reputational crisis and they are careful to avoid more mistakes or bad public opinion. I felt confident that they would quash the conviction of OUK.
DPA Rambo
Boston, Massachusetts
