Ibori Is Charged In London With Money Laundering And Fraud, Ending His Escape Plots

James Ibori

Former governor of Delta state, James Onanefe Ibori, will appear before the City of Westminister Magistrate Court on Saturday to face 25-count charge for money laundering amd fraud.
SaharaReporters broke the news of Ibori’s transfer to the UK earlier today after he was arrested from his Dubai home last night by the UAE security.
Ibori arrived to the UK via Heathrow airport after the London Metropolitan police foiled his latest plot to evade his impending trial in the UK. Upon arrival he was taken to secret London police station and processed for his appearance tomorrow in court. Ibori has been slammed with 25 counts of money laundering and fraud.

 SaharaReporters  documented a series of maneuvers by Mr. Ibori to escape from the UAE by exploiting several loopholes and complex bail applications that ended in a spurious but shortlived freedom under the pretext of illhealth.
SaharaReporters also detailed ongoing efforts by the Goodluck Jonathan administration to broker a deal that would have brought Mr. Ibori back to Nigeria. Had that plot succeeded, the former governor would have faced another kangaroo court trial that would end in acquittal or a small fine after conviction on some insignificant counts. Attorney General Adoke Bello had made several secret trips to London to argue for transferring the former governor to Nigeria.
Our sources in Dubai and London said that our series of reports on these moves to help Ibori evade justice were critical in blocking them. Following our reports, UK and US law enforcement authorities registered their dismay with the UAE, stressing that Nigeria had a poor record of prosecuting corrupt public officials. 

In the end, the quick and clinical mode of Mr. Ibori’s extradition showed a determination to take his Nigerian sponsors by surprise. A source in Dubai disclosed that the former governor, who famously nicknamed himself the “Odidigboigbo of Africa,” was re-arrested last night from his Dubai mansion and taken to an extradition-processing center. Once at the center, his cell phones were taken away to prevent him from calling some of his contacts in the UAE and Nigeria.

SaharaReporters learnt that Nigerian authorities were kept in the dark about the movement of Mr. Ibori. The spokesman for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission earlier told us the anti-corruption agency was not aware of the former governor’s movement to London, but the EFCC later issued a statement announcing his extradition several hours after SaharaReporters broke the story.

In London, Mr. Ibori would be facing three separate trials -(and a possible fourth over questionable purchase of National Fertilizer Company of Nigeria –NAFCON)- in the UK relating to his extensively money laundering and theft during his eight-year tenure as Delta state governor.

Several of Mr. Ibori’s accomplices are already spending various jail terms in the UK after they were found guilty of aiding and abetting Mr. Ibori in his money laundering activities. The jailed accomplices include Mr. Ibori’s wife, Theresa Nkoyo-Ibori, his sister, Christine Ibie-Ibori, and his mistress, Udoamaka Okonkwo (nee Onuigbo). They are all serving five-year jail sentences. Mr. Ibori’s UK lawyer, Bhadresh Gohil, was handed a 10-year sentence during an April 1, 2011 sentencing. The sentence will run concurrently with a previous 7-year conviction.

Mr. Ibori had fled Nigeria last year after his heavily armed protectors had held off Nigeria’s law enforcement authorities in a tense standoff while he was holed up in his country home of Oghara in Delta State. But Interpol located him in Dubai and UK authorities immediately filed a petition for his extradition. Dubai’s Court of Cessation, upholding the ruling of a lower court, finally granted the extradition in December 2010.