Politics
Ibori heads to British Court of Appeal, challenges his fraud conviction
Former Delta State governor, James Ibori has appealed his 2012 conviction over fraud in the British Court of Appeal.
This was made known to newsmen in a statement the former governor’s media assistant, Tony Eluemunor, released on Sunday.
According to him, Ibori’s counsel filed the appeal before the Southwark London court on Friday March 17, 2017, on behalf of Ibori.
Eluemunor said consequent on the appeal that the court had to indeterminately adjourn the on-going proceedings concerning the second confiscation hearing.
The original three-week confiscation hearing before Judge Pitts in September 2013 was unable to make any finding of theft from the Delta State.
Read also: Gov Dickson wants Makarfi to resign as solution to PDP crisis
The British Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) had, since February 2016 been undertaking a mammoth disclosure exercise and so far substantial material evidencing the police corruption and misconduct has been disclosed. The CPS has gagged the media from reporting on this.
UK authorities were notified by Bhadresh Gohil, who was the former governor’s lawyer and co-accused, of police fraud when they were investigating and prosecuting him and Ibori.
While Gohil was jailed for 10 years in 2010 for helping Ibori launder money, Ibori was sentenced to 13 years in jail in 2012 following his guilty plea to laundering money in the United Kingdom.
Ibori returned to Nigeria on February 4, after serving his jail term in the UK.
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JOHNSON PETER
March 20, 2017 at 7:40 am
Thief challenging his fraud conviction. I pray this misguided challenge will land him more jail terms over there just that I want him to suffer in Nigerian prison and not abroad.
Agbor Chris
March 20, 2017 at 9:07 am
Court gives verdicts based on laws of the land and available proofs. If Ibori can prove himself in the law court, it will go along way in redeeming his dented image in public and will help his political portfolio as well.
Anita Kingsley
March 20, 2017 at 9:12 am
This makes no sense at all, after serving 13-year jail term, challenging the court’s judgement is totally unneeded. It seems Ibori still has more money to splash on a case that won’t favour him still.
Roland Uchendu Pele
March 20, 2017 at 9:28 am
He will be paid damages.
Everybody s looking for cheap money these days.
And his group of lawyers must ave advised him on this.
They must have said, “Let’s challenge the court and make some dough!”
Amarachi Okoye
March 21, 2017 at 3:16 am
A foolish man remain a foolish man no matter what ibori is one of the foolish man who will throw money on a case that he his called a loser
yanju omotodun
March 20, 2017 at 12:20 pm
Efcc should strike immediately before ibori used our money remaining on him for irrelevant court case. Efcc should grill him before he exhausted all the money on court case.
Joy Madu
March 21, 2017 at 3:10 am
Yes oooo because we need money for better thing not ibori case
seyi jelili
March 20, 2017 at 12:49 pm
All I want to believe is that the British judiciary is not like Nigerian judiciary that can be easily bought and manipulate. Let ibori proceed and we shall see the outcome.