‘I will fight for justice’: Nigerian fraudster and Tinubu’s friend, James Ibori, reacts to UK court fresh judgment

Nigerian fraudster and ex-governor of Delta state, James Ibori, has vowed to appeal a judgement by UK court to confiscate 101.5 million pounds ($130 million) belonging to him.

Ibori is in Nigeria and has been hosted twice at the presidential villa, along with other former governors since President Bola Tinubu took office.

In a statement quoted by Reuters, Ibori said; “The next steps will be to take my fight for justice to the highest courts in the UK”..

Ibori was governor of oil-producing Delta State from 1999 to 2007 and was extradited from Dubai to Britain in 2011.

He pleaded guilty in 2012 to 10 counts of fraud and money-laundering and received a 13-year jail sentence of which he served half, as is standard.

The case was hailed as a landmark in the fight against corruption in Britain, a global money-laundering hub, and in Nigeria, where self-enrichment by the ruling elite has been one of the main factors holding back development for decades.

The confiscation process took over a decade after Ibori’s conviction because of lengthy court delays and legal wrangling in London.

“The long and tortuous road to reach this point shows just how tough it is to recover the proceeds of corruption in the UK,” said Helen Taylor, Senior Legal Researcher at campaign group Spotlight on Corruption.

“To ensure justice delayed doesn’t mean justice denied for the Nigerian people, it’s essential that the UK now makes every effort to ensure the speedy return of this stolen loot to benefit the victims of Ibori’s corruption in Delta State,” she said.

Britain has pledged to return any funds 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.