By Tseaa Armstrong, Abuja

Fear and anxiety have gripped some of the nation’s politicians standing trials for various corruption charges following the conviction yesterday of former Abia State Governor, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu.

Prominent politicians among them former Ministers, Governors and National Assembly Assembly members in both the main opposition-Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) and the ruling-All Progressives Congress(APC)  either being investigated by the anti-corruption agencies for facing trial for corruption charges.

Some of them include Senator Buruji Kasumu, Rear Admiral Murtala Nyako, Senator Godswill Akpabio, Senator Dino Melaye, Senator Bukola Saraki and Gabriel Suswam among others.

Those who spoke with DAILY ASSET yesterday said with the conviction of Kalu, a well known supporter of President Muhammadu Buhari and Chief Whip of the Senate, it showed that anybody could be convicted.

DAILY ASSET correspondents, who sampled the views of people, report that accolades were thrown to the government of President Muhammadu Buhari for proving his orchestrated campaign against corruption in the country.

Some legal practitioners, who spoke with our correspondents, said the conviction was a prove that the government was not ready to spare anybody found guilty of corrupt practices.

A legal practitioner and a lecturer of Property Law, University of Benin, Mr. Daniel Achir said the ex-governor deserved the jail term since he was convicted by the court, but argued, however, that Uzor Kalu has a window of 90 days to appeal the judgment.

The serving senator, according to Achir, deserved the right to “remain in the National Assembly and appeal within a 90-day window period because he was not convicted before his election as a senator.

“Many Nigerians have started calling that he should be sent to prison immediately, but the provision of the law gives Kalu 90 days to apply for stay of execution. he added.

Similarly, an Aba based lawyer and a current affairs analyst, Chief Ukpai Ukairo, said: “The judgment is earth-shattering and a good omen that one could not hide from   the law, no matter how highly placed”.

“The judgment shows that though the wheel of justice grinds slowly, it will surely grind very well.

“This is the time for Abia to recover money stolen by that regime and use it meaningfully.

“The 12-year sentence is also a warning to those in positions of authority that abuse the trust of the people”, Ukairo added.

 A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Abia state, Chief Okey Nwagbara, lauded the judgment and described it as “indication that the Federal Government’s commitment to fight

Corruption.

“It is a very straight-forward judgment against corruption.

“The judgment shows that the judiciary is independent and actually the hope of the common man.

“I learnt that the court ruled that the property of Slok, Orji Kalu’s company, should be forfeited to the Federal Government.

“I want the Federal Government to do justice by converting the property of Slok to Abia Government’s, because the money he was accused of stealing, is Abia State Government’s,” he said.

The coordinator of Easy Life Initiative for Rural Youths (ELIRY), Mr Uche Emeku, said the judgment showed that the judiciary could act independently.

“It is not about Orji Kalu, but sanity in our polity as long as it is not done with prejudice.

“I believe everybody who commits a crime should be punished for the crime he committed.

“Everybody should be very careful because it is about dispensing justice by those in the temple of justice,” he said.

The Chairman, Partners for Electoral Reforms (PEF), Mr Ezenwa Nwagwu, said Orji Kalu sentence was a proof that joining the ruling party with criminal case was not a guarantee against justice.

Nwagwu said the sentencing had faulted the notion that once people with criminal record join the ruling party, they were covered.

 “The judgment is a good boost for the anti-corruption fight, especially against the background of all the noise about once somebody is in the All Progressives Congress (APC) the person cannot be brought to justice.

“It is a good signal that even if you join the ruling party you will not clog the will of justice.

“It also signals the fact that no matter how long it last, once there is the determination by the court to bring justice, justice would be done.

“We are excited about the judgment and we hope that it is also brought to bear on Babachir Lawal’s case and other cases of people with criminal record who think that being in the ruling party is a guarantee against justice,’’ he said.

A Lagos Federal High Court in Lagos, yesterday sentenced Kalu, the former governor of Abia to a 12-year-imprisonment over alleged money laundering and fraud to the tune of N7.2 billion on a 39-count- count charge preferred against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission charge.

Kalu was charged alongside a former Commissioner for Finance, in the state, Jones Udeogo, and his company, Slok Nig. Ltd.

While Kalu and his company were found guilty of all the 39 counts, Udeogo was convicted on 34 counts and sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment. The court ordered that the Slok Nig. Ltd. be wound up and its assets forfeited to the Federal Government.

Meanwhile, Kalu, who is the Senate Chief Whip in the 9^th National Assembly, had smiled at reporters and said: “2023, here we come” with tears running down his chest.

As he wiped tears from his eyes when the Judge was reading the 228-page judgment, his company, used in committing the fraud, was ordered to be wound up and all the assets forfeited to the Federal Government.

Justice Idris held that the EFCC proved that the convicts conspired and divert N7.65bn from the coffers of the Abia state and found him and his co-defendants guilty of the entire 39 counts.

Justice Idris sentenced Kalu, to five years imprisonment each from counts one to 11 and three years each from counts 23 to 33.

He was also sentenced to 12 years each, from counts 34 to 38 and five years on count 39. The total sentence is 133 years imprisonment, but he would be serving 12 years.

The Judge said that the sentence is to run concurrently. Justice Mohammed said: “Money laundry offence is a crime against humanity and dangerous offences in the world”.