SENATE chief whip and former Abia State governor Senator Orji Uzor Kalu has asked a federal high court to grant him leave to go and receive medical attention from his herbalist as the Nigerian prison service cannot treat a nagging aliment he is suffering from.
On December 5, Senator Kalu was sentenced to 12 years in prison after being found guilty of N7.1bn fraud during his tenure as governor. Senator Kalu, who has since been taken to the prison said filed his application earlier this week, claiming that since the offences he was convicted for were bailable the court should free him.
Senator Kalu is appealing his conviction by Justice Mohammed Idris at the Court of Appeal and in the interim is asking for bail while his appeal is being heard. In his appeal, he also stressed that as the chief whip of the senate and the senator representing Abia North Senatorial District the interest of his constituents would be in jeopardy if he was kept behind bars.
Speaking before Justice Mohammad Liman today, Senator Kalu said that he is battling serious health challenges and needs to seek the medical services of his herbalist. He claimed that the medical facilities in the correctional centre in Lagos where he is being held cannot handle his ailment.
Senator Kalu is serving his term at the Ikoyi Custodial Centre, Lagos after he was sentenced alongside Udeh Udeogu, a director of finance and accounts at the Abia State Government House when he was governor. Justice Mohammed Idris, who sentenced Senator Kalu also ordered that his firm, Slok Nigeria be wound up and its assets forfeited to the federal government.
