As the debate rages over the $15million dollar bribe allegedly collected from the former governor of Delta State by the EFCC, political observers and legal luminaries across the nation have faulted the refusal of the federal government to release the money to Delta State government from which the said money was allegedly looted.
There are those who believed that the money in question could be Ibori’s personal money presumably or otherwise. Others believe that the former governor of Delta State did not agree that he gave a bribe to the EFCC and this bring us to the first principle of logic which state that ‘’a thing is what it is’’ irrespective of what anybody thinks about it. A white flag cannot be called a red flag under certain condition, geographical space, and political situation.
The EFCC claimed that they collected an amount of money allegedly looted from the Delta State treasury unlawfully and on the strength of that and other sundry allegations; politically motivated and otherwise, the EFCC orchestrated the arrest of the former governor in far away UK.
Similarly, the case of money laundering against former governor Joshua Dariye of Plateau State and his counterpart in Bayelsa state Chief DSP Alamieseigha who found themselves in similar circumstance is the reason for the invocation of the first principles of logic to assist us in analyzing these issues logically.
It is pertinent to note here that any conclusion made without premises is likely to be an illogical conclusion.
Let us consider this hypothetical situation whereby an amount of money that belong to state A Was collected by Mr. B unlawfully to bribe agency C. Agency C decided to collect the money and expose the deal. In this case, the only logical thing to do is to return the said money to State A. If agency C which is federal government represented by the EFCC decided to keep the money, there are two things involved
1. The aim of setting up that agency is defeated
2. The agency has directly or indirectly committed the same offence that Mr. B allegedly committed which is depriving the good people of Delta State, the money meant for their human capital and infrastructural development.
In such a situation, the people will naturally react because you cannot flog a child and expect the child not to cry.
The situation is even aggravated by the fact that monies allegedly looted by other state governors under the same circumstance were returned to such states.
The big question here is who owns the money that was allegedly used by the former governor of Delta State to bribe the EFCC? Of course, we all know that this question is rhetorical because of the obvious answer it elicit.
To this end therefore, we call on the federal government to urgently return our money back to Delta State without further delay.

This is indeed a good piece.
Preceedents abound in the case of Bayelsa State/Alamaesiegha and Plateau State/Dariye.The case of Delta can not be treated differently because what is good for the goose is indeed good for the ostrich!!!

I am solidly in support of this write up against the federal govt to refund the aforementioned fund to Delta State treasury,firstly the alleged fund is from an origin of delta state and secondly then he was also the governor of delta state too. The federal government does not have any legal or conventional right to seal up this fund to the detriment of delta state government.

I am solidly in support of this write up for the federal govt to refund the aforementioned fund to Delta State treasury,firstly the alleged fund is from an origin of delta state and secondly, then he was also the governor of delta state too. The federal government does not have any legal or conventional right to seal up this fund to the detriment of delta state government.

I don't see any reason why the FG should be contemplating on the release of $15m to the Delta state Gvt . Precedence have been set with states like Bayelsa Platue and even with the Abacha's loot.When it was recovered the federal Govt lay claim to the money and body made any comment. What is good for the goose is good for the gander.such fund will be used to improve developmental strides in the state. Please mr president Goodluck Jonathan, I know you are driven with a passion to undo corrupt practices in the country, this case before you is a specimen to practicalize your burning desire for change on. The money belongs to Delta state. Give it UP!!! Evangelist Odogbor Udume Vincent.

HAHAHA,Mr. president is only interested in the Ijaws in Delta State any other group can go to hell. He has given power to a Tompolo to destroy Itsekiri peoples properties in Ugborodo in the name of fighting bunkers. I fear for Mr President by 2015 because Urhobos might work against him. This money belong to a state in the Niger Delta where the president hail from.May be he has decided to use the money to settle Boko Haram. His wife is ready to be a muslim to remain a first lady for life

People have made their comments especially from legal, moralistic and common sense level in the guise of how the reclaiming process will affect the legal standing of Ibori. The saliency of this issue is borne of the need to not only protect the state of losing about 2.5 billion naira to the federal government, which is almost a fifth of the monthly allocation to the state, but in protecting the 'mantra' called Ibori. I here present some of the view points

Ibori has not been convicted of any crime concerning his tenure as Governor of Delta State in any nigerian court. In fact the subsisting court decision cleared him of over a 100 count charge! He has also denied offering anyone $15m bribe. So if the ownership of the money is unknown, the owner of the bank inherits it!
Yesterday at 8:31pm ·

Have u forgotten dat Uduaghan went to court sometime ago to say Delta State dld not complain dat her monies were missing. So which money are they asklng for again?
Yesterday at 8:45pm · Like

There is no proof that the money in question is missing from the state treasury. In my opinion it is the man's personal money. The question of the state demanding for it is out of place.
Yesterday at 4:17pm · Like
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Obukoadata Ogheneruke Presly
Yes all monies confiscated from the former governor was deemed to have been illegally gotten from the Delta State treasury. Recall Ibori did not stand trial for amassing personal fortune but for defrauding Delta State, so the $15m should be no exception. I think it should be returned but the modus operandi for managing the fund should be a critical issue or should we say that the money confiscated in the UK should be forfeited too?
Yesterday at 4:23pm · Like
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Andy Obbu
No Nigerian court have found Ibori guilty of any crime:. The state should file for separation of funds with the british government. Our problem in Delta is beyond this money in question. Ibori is rich
Yesterday at 4:33pm · Like
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Obukoadata Ogheneruke Presly
Ibori is rich and rich he will continue to be, our grouse here is why will the federal government hold on to the money? Return it back to Ibori or Delta State!


The law concerning bribery am not too conversant with. I will check and get back to you . The money belongs to Ibori. If the law provides for the money to be returned to the giver.


The law does not allow it be returned to the giver rather to the state, which is Delta


Also note that the case of bribery have not been established against the governor. To me it is an allegation made against the man by Ribadu

Do you know Joshua Dariye is a serving senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria?

Therefore, which ever you want to protect, Delta state or Ibori, the question is should that money finds it's way into the hands of one misguided EFCC official as has been the case with all exhibit monies in this country, or should we get back to the state to be used for some developmental purposes? I think the debate has gone beyond whether it should be returned or not, but to the level of how it should be managed as well as the expectant monies from the United Kingdom. Dr Uduaghan should begin to set up a Commonwealth Committee to identify strategic needs for the money to be so returned. In this light we would be looking beyond the government of Delta state to the people of Delta State

The money belong to delta state but Nigerian government official would rather share this money than give it to the people of delta for development. Bunch of subsidy scammers

The money belongs to Delta State. What do the federal government wants to do with the money? FG most return the to Delta State.

FG should Return the money cos of the set precedent in other cases, The state really need the money for its own development and it should be done without any sentiments attached 2 it !!!

LOL...did they not say NO money was missing from Delta government recently? Did some people not go to demonstrate against the court case in order to help acquit Ibori? Well, maybe Jonakorrupt needs the money for himself! Cassava bread is not cheap abeg!

This money we are talking about belong to a state so it should be release to the state to enhance developmental projects that can affect the good people of Delta state. But why should the case of Delta be different from that of Bayelsa, plateu state,FG please release our money for us we want to use to develop our state.

Why we need our money back from federal government




AN unnecessary controversy has been making the rounds between the Delta State Government and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over the rightful owners of the $15 million (N2.4 million) which the commission alleged former Governor of the state, Chief James Ibori, gave as a bribe to it in 2007.

The dispute arose when a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on July 25, 2012 ordered the amount forfeited to the Federal Government. The Delta State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Charles Ajuyah, promptly applied to the Court to direct that the fund be restored to the Delta State Government, its original and rightful owners.

The state’s argument was that since Chief Ibori was the Governor of Delta State at the time the bribe was allegedly offered in 2007, the money belongs to Delta State taxpayers and should be returned to the state’s coffers.

However, the EFCC has indicated its decision to contest the Delta State claim when the motion on notice comes up in court on September 17, 2012. We find the EFCC decision inexplicable and unwarranted because it has not proffered any cogent reason to enter into this tussle.

Is the commission implying that after blowing a whistle that Chief Ibori bribed it with that sum it is now determined to keep the bribe to itself rather than return it to the coffers of the state government from where it was taken in the first place? What then is the value of its whistle-blowing?

Nigeria should borrow a leaf from precedents set in more functional legal jurisdictions. For instance, in April this year, the Southwark Crown Court in London, the United Kingdom, convicted Ibori of fraud and stealing of amounts totalling $77 million or about N12.17 billion and promptly ordered that the money be returned to the Delta State Government, the original owners.

It was the same UK court that was able to convict Chief Ibori, which the EFCC was unable to successfully prosecute in a Nigerian court. Nigeria and the UK share the same legal tradition and the UK case should act as a natural precedent.

Delta is one of the states in the Niger Delta still reeling from the post-militancy syndrome in the creeks, where a lot of crimes, especially armed robbery and kidnapping, are being battled daily by the state government and the citizens. It requires all the funds it can lay hands on to hasten development, increase youth capacity, accelerate job creation and reduce crime.

The EFCC should kindly direct its attention to exhaustive investigation and diligent prosecution of cases it is pursuing, rather than busy itself chasing after money that does not belong to it.
Comments are moderate

Time to investigate the special interest that EFCC has on that money because.

Let the truth be spoken for once, this is a just cause, this issue must be free from any form of politics,be it tax payer money or state treaury funds, let the aforementioned money be refunded to Delta State Government for appropriate management and avenue to establish more areas of sustainable development in addition to what is on ground. Com Kingsley Ubiebi.

EFCC should focus more on oil subsidy thieves and leave delta money alone.Boko Haram recruited majority of their members during the fuel subsidy riot and the perpetrators of this evil act have not been prosecuted but EFCC is busy chasing our money in order to collect their own share from it.Evil people.

whether the FG likes it or not, we must claim what belong to us. The federal government is too far from d masses, any money that goes into the federal purse is a lost money as far as we are concerned

Urhobo youths plan to take FG to court if the $15 million dollar is not returned within three weeks

if we cannot get justice through court, we will embark on violent demonstration that will affect the economy of the nation and stop oil production activities

IF WE CANT GET JUSTICE FROM THE COURT, WE WILL EMBARK ON A MASSIVE PROTEST THAT WILL CRIPPLE OIL PRODUCTION

All we need is the money cos the belong to the State not the federal government.

NO NO NO NO NO & NO!!!

I strongly believe that money should remain with the FG & NOT returned to Delta.

1) Delta state Govt has once said their money was not missing, in essence, exonerating Chief Ibori.

2) 'Hon.' Justice Marcel Awokulehin has cleared Chief Ibori of all charges, in essence (according to my limited legal knowledge), Mr. Ibori is NOT guilty of bribing anybody.

3) The current political leadership in Delta state is a well known ally of former Governor Ibori. How are we sure that should this money is returned to Delta, it would actually be spent to improve the lives of the people. Or is it too far-fetched to suggest that this money might be invested or kept for the former Governor (at least in the short-term, b4 it is inevitably re-embezzled), so he can have some cushion to fall back on whenever he gets back to Nigeria?


4) Last week/dis weekend, we heard news making rounds that there was a plot by some powerful people to retrieve & keep the money for the former Governor. Now, is that 'rumor' not proving to be true with the current propaganda & brouhaha over this issue?


5) This is BRIBE money. A FEDERAL GOVERNMENT official was bribed with it & he declined & submitted the money instead. We shouldnt care if the money is for DTSG or Ibori inherited it from his father, the money should remain confiscated & added to the federation account as income. Pure and simple.


6) For those saying the money can be used by the current DTSG to ''improve the lives of the people'', my question is simple: Delta state has a population of less than 5 million & receives BILLIONS of naira monthly. Has this told on the living standards of the average Deltan? The Governor is trying, yes, but with the amount of money he receieves every month, trust me, he can do A WHOLE LOT MORE.. Lets not deceive ourselves. I spent the first half of this year in beloved Delta so i think I know what i'm talking about. But lemme not derail the topic.


The 15 Million dollars should be credited to the Federation account ASAP.


Note: I'm be quite nice by saying the Governor is trying.

In all this, RIBADU is forgotten.. On this same nairaland loads of people argued endlessly that he was never bibed, that the money never existed.. Now they want the money returned to Delta state, Delta has said that there money was never stolen or missing, its FG's money to do with as it wishes, except of course Delta state can wait till Ibori is released, charge him to court for their missing money and a competent court setence him to prison for theft and then they can have funds back..Anything less is a sham, give the money back to his cousin.. Nigerians are there own worst enemies..

ibori is likeable criminals

Ibori has denied personally giving money to Ribadu which is a fact because the money was given through an agent. He has also denied giving money to anybody to give to Ribadu. The Delta state govt. has claimed severally that her money is not missing. So how can the Delta state govt come to say thd money belongs to them when ibori has denied knowing anything about the money?

If federal government dont refund d money to delta then EFCC should pay damage to Ibori for false accusation

DELTA BOY: If federal government dont refund d money to delta then EFCC should pay damage to Ibori for false accusation

I am sorry to say, but the above statement is simply stupid. How can you say EFCC should pay damages without a court judgement? Ibori should be the person suing EFCC and not delta state govt.

I honestly do not know the business of delta state govt. In this case, since it decleared that the money was not stolen from its coffers. So it ment the alleged bribe money was ibori's personal cash, so it is left to Ibori to come and explain how his money got into Ribadu's hands. And if Ibori denies any transaction with Ribadu, then the money should be returned to Ribadu as he was the one that deposited the money. After all the rule says finders keepers.

Wirinet, you r a very good lawyer. So ur legal advise is that Ribadu should keep d money for his own use. Read ur statement again

If the finder should be the taker, how are we sure it wasnt a set up.

Every thing is faulty in Nigeria. Law is made for the benefit of man but Nigerian law has no benefit to any body. d finder d taker indeed

UYCO: Wirinet, you r a very good lawyer. So ur legal advise is that Ribadu should keep d money for his own use. Read ur statement again

So who should own the money?

Ibori said he did not give Ribadu bribe money.
The courts agreed with ibori that bribe was not given to ribadu.
The delta state government says no money missing from its coffers.
But ribadu found some money which he erroneously thought was bribe money from Ibori.
So since the money does not seem to have an owner? Shouldn't the finder claim it? Because the money is just sitting idly at the CBN.

Friday, 31 August 2012 05:47 | Print | E-mail
1

[James Ibori]

James Ibori
The issue of a certain $15million bribe money allegedly given by former Delta State Governor, Chief James Ibori, to former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, to compromise Ribadu and his team, has recently generated a lot of controversies.

The matter first came to public knowledge when Ibori was charged to court in 2007 by the EFCC for various offences. One of the counts in the charge was in relation to offering that money as bribe to Ribadu. But in an affidavit in support of his application for bail, Ibori denied any knowledge of the money. However, according to the EFCC, after taking custody of the money through Ibrahim Lamorde, who was then the Director of Operations of the Commission, the money was taken to the Central Bank of Nigeria and kept there.

QUESTIONS: WHY DEPOSIT THE PROCEEDS OF A CRIME, WHICH IS ALREADY AN EXHIBIT TO BE TENDERED IN COURT, IN THE CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA? IS THE CBN A STORE FOR EXHIBITS? DOES THE EFCC NOT HAVE FACILITIES TO KEEP EXHIBITS?

In any case, the 170-count charge against Ibori, which included a count of giving the $15 million bribe, was struck out by the Federal High Court sitting in Asaba. The EFCC appealed against that decision and various parts of that appeal are presently before the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court.

In the meantime, James Ibori, has been extradited to the United Kingdom, tried and convicted of some other offences, which do not include giving the $15million bribe or laundering that sum. In other words, if the appeal of the EFCC against Ibori succeeds at the Supreme Court, Ibori can still be tried in Nigeria for laundering the sum of $15million and giving it as bribe, since he was never tried for those offences in United Kingdom. For instance, if a person kills Mr. Peter and Paul and he is tried only for killing Mr. Peter and convicted, he can later be tried for killing Mr. Paul also. It will not amount to double jeopardy.

It is with this state of affairs that the Federal Government, through the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation, sparked off controversy recently when it applied to court that the said money be forfeited to the Federal Government. The Delta State Government has also come forward to lay claim to the money. And a certain businessman named Chibuike Achigbu and Dr. Andy Uba, the former Special Assistant on Special Duties and Domestic Affairs to President Olusegun Obasanjo, have also claimed in court that they were the proxies through whom the money was given to Ribadu, but that it was for a different purpose other than bribe.

QUESTIONS: WHY WERE THE DUO OF ANDY UBA AND CHIBUIKE ACHIGBU NOT ARRESTED AT THAT TIME (SINCE THEY ENJOYED NO IMMUNITY LIKE CHIEF JAMES IBORI) AND CHARGED TO COURT FOR CONSPIRACY AND BRIBERY? WHY HAVE THEY NOT BEEN ARRESTED UP TILL THIS MINUTE AND CHARGED TO COURT? OR IS THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TELLING NIGERIANS THAT NUHU RIBADU WAS LYING ABOUT THE BRIBE MONEY?

WHAT KIND OF COUNTRY WILL WANT TO RECOVER EXHIBITS THAT ARE THE PROCEEDS OF CRIME, WITHOUT FIRST ARRESTING THE CULPRITS, INVESTIGATING THEM, TRACING THE ORIGIN OF THE MONEY, CHARGING THEM TO COURT AND SECURING CONVICTION?

It is in the light of the above that the attempt by the Federal Government to recover the alleged $15miilion bribe money deposited in the CBN surreptitiously through the court is nothing but a shameful and disgraceful attempt at covering up a crime, abdicating its statutory responsibility to prosecute criminals, and reneging on its pledge to the people to fight the cancer of corruption to its roots, no matter whose ox is gored.

The Federal Government should immediately withdraw that case from court and the Delta State Government and all other parties should back off from this national embarrassment we are witnessing. Consequently, the Federal Government should do the following:

(1) Await the decision of the Court of Appeal or Supreme Court over the appeal against the discharge of Ibori on the 170-Count charge. If the Supreme Court rules that Ibori was wrongly discharged and orders a retrial (just as happened recently in the case of Kenny Martins when a retrial was ordered by the Court of Appeal over stealing of police funds), the $15 million is one of the exhibits that will be tendered when the case is retried.

(2) Await the verdict of that retrial, (if it is ordered) which retrial will determine once and for all whether the money was actually given by Ibori or not as bribe to Ribadu.

(3) Arrest immediately the duo of Andy Uba and Chibuike Achigbu, interrogate them, trace the origin of the $15million, and if it has no origin, charge them with money laundering and/or conspiracy and bribery.

ALTERNATIVELY

(4) Arrest Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, interrogate him and charge him to court, if necessary,for conspiracy to pervert the course of justice and perjury as regards the proceedings in Asaba when he swore on oath or procured another to swear that he was given a bribe. This is because, it is either Ribadu on the one hand is lying that he was offered $15million as bribe or Andy Uba, Ibori and Chibuike Achigbu on the other hand are all lying that it was not bribe. Both versions cannot be correct and any version that is false amounts to a crime under our laws.

Either way, we cannot fold our arms and watch helplessly and hopelessly as some persons with dubious intentions regarding that money which is public funds play on our collective intelligence in this matter.

This is a very serious matter that is turning into a comedy of sort. It is the embarrassing failure of the Federal Government to follow due process and the rule of law to the letter regarding that bribe money that is the foundation for the present absurdity we are witnessing where those who should actually be in jail and institutions that failed in performing their duties are fighting themselves publicly to claim money that is purely the proceeds of crime.

It is important to mention that apart for my well-known commitment to the campaign against corruption in public office, my particular motivation in this case is the fact that the funds in question have some kind of connection to my State (Delta State) which has suffered from series of maladministration. I am an Urhobo man, born, bred and raised in Ughelli, while I hail from Effurun in Uvwie Local Government Area of Delta State, near Warri. I am pained to see that whilst social amenities and infrastructure are lacking in most parts of Delta State, a hefty sum of $15million WHICH MAY HAVE come from the State was allegedly given in one fell swoop as bribe to cover up crimes committed, perhaps, against the people of Delta State.

Consequently, if in the next few days, the Federal Government fails, refuses and/or neglects to take appropriate steps to terminate the case in court and properly investigate all the suspects in this matter, whether the principals or proxies who participated in laundering and offering this money as bribe or otherwise, I will be left with no other option than to proceed to court to bring the suspects to justice.

Being the full text of a statement issued on Thursday by Festus Keyamo

Disclaimer: The opinions in the article(s) above are solely views of the author and not of Frontiers Alliance Communications and its subsidiaries.

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