UK Court Asked To Compel James Ibori To Refund More $129 Million In Alleged Looted Fund
After a more than decade-long process, steps by the British authorities to confiscate money stolen by former governor, James Ibori, have nearly concluded.
The Reuters news agency quotes a British prosecutor as telling a court that it should retrieve $129m from Ibori.
Previously, prosecutors have said that he stole an estimated $165m from the oil-rich Delta State while he was its governor.
Two years ago, the UK returned some $5.8m that Ibori had taken.
In 2012, after being extradited from Dubai to the UK, he was convicted on 10 counts of fraud. After serving some of his sentence in prison Ibori returned to Nigeria in 2017.
In a text message to Reuters, Ibori said that he would appeal against the confiscation order.
Ibori remains influential and well-connected in Nigerian politics. President Bola Tinubu, who was inaugurated in May,
has hosted Ibori twice at the presidential villa, along with other former governors.
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Britain has pledged to return any money recovered from Ibori to Nigeria.
In 2021, it returned 4.2 million pounds that had been confiscated from Ibori’s ex-wife and his sister, who also served jail time for helping him launder money.
But reacting to Thursday’s proceeding on his Facebook page, the former Delta government said his hope was “rapidly fading” for a fair hearing.
He also announced plans to seek redress and fight for justice in the highest courts in UK.
He said, “Finally, the shenanigans in the Southwark Crown Court are drawing to a close.
Judge Tomlinson is due to make a confiscation order which should be both realisable and not punitive.
“However, after what transpired in court today my hopes are rapidly fading for any degree of fairness.
“In the 2 years it has taken to write this judgment it seems apparent that he has forgotten many of the salient points and is prioritising expediency over justice.
“The next step will be to take my fight for justice to the highest courts in the UK.”
