London court seizes N101.1 billion from former Delta State governor James Ibori

Judge David Tomlinson of Southwark Crown Court in London ordered on Friday the confiscation of £101.5 million pounds ($130.34 million) from former Delta State governor James Ibori.

In naira terms, the confiscated amount is ₦101,143,847,363.27, approximately one-ninth of the amount shared by the three tiers of government on Thursday.

Judge Tomlinson stated that Ibori should pay the sum immediately or face an eight-year jail sentence.

Ibori, who resides in Nigeria, has expressed his intention to appeal against the confiscation order in the UK’s highest court.

In a Facebook post on Thursday night, ahead of the confiscation order, he wrote:

“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 realizable 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 prioritizing expediency over justice. The next steps will be to take my fight for justice to the highest courts in the UK.”

In 2012, Ibori was convicted in London for fraud and money-laundering and was sentenced to 13 years in jail.

After serving approximately five years, Ibori returned to Nigeria in 2017.

He did not attend Thursday’s hearing, where lead prosecution counsel Jonathan Kinnear told the court that the total amount that should be confiscated from Ibori was £101.5 million.

He argued that if Ibori did not pay up, he should be sentenced to between five and ten years in prison.

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