I was not deported, don’t have a twitter account, Ibori claims

Fresh out of prison, former governor of Delta State, Chief James Ibori is making the news for more than just his release from incarceration.

The former governor has denied that he was deported from the United Kingdom, claiming that he left voluntarily.

He also denounced stories that a twitter account had been created for him, saying he does not own such an account, nor was it created with his knowledge or blessing.

Earlier reports had quoted the Press and Public Affairs Officer, of the British High Commission, Mr. Joe Abuku,as saying that Ibori was deported from that country having served out his prison term, and that investigations into Ibori’s issue is still ongoing with a view to confiscating assets discovered to have been illegally acquired by him.

However, the former governor in a statement by his Media Assistant, Tony Eluemunor, said: “Even though I had wanted to publicise my return to Nigeria so that wrong meanings would not be read into the public interest I knew my presence in Nigeria would elicit, and also because I never wanted any crowd that would gather because of me to disturb a single Nigerian in the course of their duties, all my efforts to keep the trip secret failed. The airline that brought me into Nigeria is public knowledge. So, too, my disembarkation Airport.

“So, it would be easy to verify that I was not deported because the deporting country’s officials would always hand over deportees to Nigerian Immigration officials and documents would also be exchanged.

Read also: JOIN THE SURVEY:  Out of UK prison, should Ibori face another trial for alleged looting of Delta State?

Most of all, a record of documented letters between Ibori’s solicitors and the British Home off exist which proves beyond all reasonable doubts that Ibori was granted leave to exit Britain “voluntarily”, and he announced, as was reported by both the Reuters and the BBC, and several Nigerian news outlets that he would return to Nigeria in a matter of days. He did not announce the exact day so as to avoid the situation that would result in crowd control challenges for the security services”, Eluemunor said,

He also explained that reports reached him Sunday afternoon that a Twitter handle in his name (@ChiefIbori), with his picture too, has been trending on the internet. His media office immediately reached out to some journalists such as to warn Nigerians not to fall victim to the fraudster who created that Twitter Account for whatever reason. We can only suspect that a confidence trickster must have created that account to lure incredulous Nigerians into a 419 trap.

“Please, Chief Ibori would like the general public to disregard that account and to stop assessing the Twitter handle over matters or discussions affecting him as he neither nor those working for him created that Twitter handle or has ever commented on it. The Twitter administrators have been advised to shut down the account and whenever Ibori sees the need to create a Twitter account, the public would be so advised”.

On reports that he was still under investigation by the U.K. government, Ibori said, “last week Tuesday, 31st January Ibori confirmed in his last court appearance in Britain that he will appeal his conviction because the trial was riddled with corruption and other reasons.

“The court could not fix a date for confiscation hearing in deference to Ibori’s impending appeal, and so adjourned hearing till 17th March; so the confiscation hearing will not start till after the appeal against Ibori’s conviction. This remains one of Ibori’s greatest victories since the London case started.

“Ibori’s Counsel requested for the adjournment in the hope that the appeal would have been filed before 17th March, thereby putting the confiscation hearing on hold”, he added.

 

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