Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court, Abuja, temporarily halted the retrial of former Abia Governor, Sen. Orji Kalu, on alleged corruption charges.

Mr. Ekwo temporarily stayed the retrial while delivering a ruling in an application by Kalu seeking leave to file a motion against his retrial for alleged fraud committed when he served as governor between 1999 and 2007.

The ex parte application was filed by Mr. Kalu’s counsel, Prof. Awa Kalu (SAN), and the judge also granted leave to the senator to challenge the retrial’s legality on the same charge.

Mr. Ekwo agreed that the ex-governor had placed sufficient materials of value before the court to enable him to secure permission for judicial review of his retrial on charges which he had been tried, convicted, and spent some months in prison.

The judge also permitted Mr. Kalu to apply for an order of perpetual injunction against the federal government through the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to prohibit his retrial.

The court gave him seven days to file and serve the EFCC all processes he intended to use to challenge the legality of the retrial.

The matter was adjourned until February 23, for mention.

Mr. Kalu had asked the court to stop the EFCC from retrying him on the N17.1 billion money laundering charge against him.

He contended that having been tried once by EFCC, convicted and sentenced in the same charge, FHC/ABJ/CR/56/ 2007, it would amount to double jeopardy for him to be subjected to a fresh trial on the same charge.

In his exparte motion, Mr. Kalu asked that if his application was granted, it should serve as a stay of proceedings until the determination of the application or until the judge otherwise orders.