May.27, 2010, 12:15PM

A Federal High Court in Abuja, on Wednesday, adjourned the money laundering trial of the former governor of Abia State, Orji Uzor Kalu, for six months.

Jack Tilley-Gyado, counsel to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which had brought the case against Mr. Kalu, asked the court to adjourn the trial since the matter was also before the Court of Appeal in Abuja. The organisation said it wanted its case to wait until the determination of the appeal. Awa Kalu, counsel to the former governor, also asked the court to adjourn the matter, but to do so indefinitely.

Mr. Kalu’s lawyer told the court that there were two more appeals coming from the case, and that one of those appeals had not even been fixed for a hearing. He repeated his call for the court to adjourn the case indefinitely so that his client would not face the possibility of going to trial while his any of his appeals were pending.

However, in his ruling, Justice Adamu Bello, noted that in the past he had declined calls to adjourn Mr. Kalu’s case indefinitely, saying that doing so would be “tantamount to a stay of proceeding.” He adjourned the case to November 25, 2010, so that the appellate court would have ample time to make its decisions and the parties involved could plan their next line of action.