Former governor of Delta State, James Onanefe Ibori, is due to become a free man in December, after spending half of his jail term in United Kingdom prisons, according to a report from London.

Ibori was jailed for money laundering offences by Southwark Crown court in 2012.

But it is unclear yet whether he will return to Nigeria immediately as legal proceedings concerning the confiscation of his assets worth tens of millions of dollars are yet to be resolved.

The delay in resolving the issue stems from allegations of police corruption in the Ibori matter and the likelihood of the former governor taking his case to the Court of Appeal.

His lawyer told the court on Friday that the former governor would appeal against his conviction on the grounds that British police and lawyers involved in his case were themselves corrupt.

Ibori, who governed Delta State from 1999 to 2007, is serving a 13-year sentence after pleading guilty in 2012 to 10 counts of fraud and money-laundering.

While in office, Ibori acquired luxury properties in Britain, the United States, South Africa and Nigeria. He is the most senior Nigerian politician to have been held to account for the corruption that has blighted Africa’s most populous nation.

His jailing in Britain, where he had laundered millions of pounds and sent his children to an expensive private school, was hailed as a high point in the international fight against graft and an important signal to other corrupt politicians.

But his lawyer Ivan Krolick told Southwark Crown Court on Friday that Ibori was “95 percent certain” to challenge his conviction in the Court of Appeal based on documents that have only recently been disclosed to the defence by the prosecution.

At the same hearing, Stephen Kamlish, a lawyer for Ibori associate and convicted money launderer Bhadresh Gohil, said the documents showed there had been widespread police corruption followed by a cover-up that was still going on now.

The main allegation is that a police officer involved in the Ibori probe took payments for information in 2007 from a firm of private detectives working on Ibori’s behalf. At the time, Ibori had not been arrested and was still in Nigeria, but knew that British police were investigating his finances.

Kamlish said prosecution lawyers had known there was evidence of police corruption but had failed to disclose it to defence lawyers. Krolick told Reuters on the sidelines of Friday’s court hearing that Ibori did not know about the payments at the time.

The police have said that the allegation was thoroughly investigated and that no one was arrested or charged, and no misconduct identified. The officer against whom the allegations have been made is still in active service.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), after a lengthy internal investigation, said in September it was confident that the convictions of Ibori and Gohil remained valid.

The CPS has said it found “material to support the assertion that a police officer received payment in return for information.” It did not use the word “evidence”, suggesting it did not consider the material in question amounted to proof.

But the CPS conceded in September that the material should have been disclosed to the defence, and handed over thousands of documents to defence lawyers. Those were the documents that Kamlish and Krolick were referring to in court on Friday.

Gohil has already filed an appeal against his conviction. Krolick said Ibori was likely to do so once his legal team had finished going through all the newly disclosed documents.

As is normal under British procedures, Ibori is due to be released in December after serving half his sentence, taking into account pre-trial detention.

Gohil, a British former lawyer, has already been released after serving half of a 10-year term for his role in laundering Ibori’s millions.


http://thenationonlineng.net/ibori-regain-freedom-december/

NgeneUkwenu:
I expect IPOb Yoots to roll out the drums and celebrate one of their own on his arrival from Jail!


Ndi ara!

lol

The jagaban of Delta State

NgeneUkwenu:
I expect IPOb Yoots to roll out the drums and celebrate one of their own on his arrival from Jail!


Ndi ara!

Miss!!!

If he dare enter the shores of Nigeria, i trust buhari to send DSS to pick him up. He is too corrupt to be free.

Ibori oooo, Ibori aaaa, Ibori again for governor. That was the song that rent the air in the build up to the 2003 governorship election in the state. Obviously, he sought a second term in office to complete his looting.

Well...without being a clairvoyant, I am sure plans are already afoot to welcome him in a grand way. Ibori, though incarcerated in a far away country, still controls the PDP's political machinery in Delta state. Patrick Okowa is his political godson and this was amply demonstrated some months back when he put a paid advert in some national dallies to congratulate Ibori on his birthday.

NgeneUkwenu:
I expect IPOb Yoots to roll out the drums and celebrate one of their own on his arrival from Jail!


Ndi ara!

You are fond of making this mistake all the time! They are not to be called IPOB YOUTHS but rather IPOB BASTARDS!


Comprende?

NgeneUkwenu:
I expect IPOb Yoots to roll out the drums and celebrate one of their own on his arrival from Jail!


Ndi ara!

ipob youths? Really?

I'm not surprised when the rich go scot free if the commit crimes against humanity...




Well, an everlasting punishment awaits them.

deltans and the love for ibori are like.....

NgeneUkwenu:
I expect IPOb Yoots to roll out the drums and celebrate one of their own on his arrival from Jail!


Ndi ara!

Stop this your foolish dance of shame oga

Finally
.
.
.
.
The Man Don Smell Prison Tire

13 years in jail is not easy

NgeneUkwenu:
I expect IPOb Yoots to roll out the drums and celebrate one of their own on his arrival from Jail!


Ndi ara!

AFONJA cyber warrior, probably charting at the comfort of his brown roof face me I face you apartment, Hungrily waiting for mama bimbo to bring a bowl of ewudu and amala so he can sequence ulcer

He doesnt deserve to be released..thief..

I bet they are arresting all these judges because Ibori is due to return.

They do not want any other Awokulehim to set him free of 170 count charge when they start with him in Nigeria.

If I am Ibori, I go just beg them for Britain make them no release me.

He is already in Nigeria....

The weirdest part is that so many Ex Governors looted more than Ibori. Especially governors from previous administration. Nigeria politics is as deep as the Pacific Ocean and filled with timeless secrets.

NgeneUkwenu:
I expect IPOb Yoots to roll out the drums and celebrate one of their own on his arrival from Jail!


Ndi ara!

Urhobo youths are not iPodians. iPodians can't come and welcome Ibori.

So fast? Crook!

Baba number one! the god father himself.

NgeneUkwenu:
I expect IPOb Yoots to roll out the drums and celebrate one of their own on his arrival from Jail!


Ndi ara!

gods bless u not God.
Happy sunday.

Android phones can be so annoying. How do I explain it? I just received a notification that my Bible App needs update. Please what does the Bible need update for? Has Adam eaten another apple

patriotic9jaboy:
If he dare enter the shores of Nigeria, i trust buhari to send DSS to pick him up. He is too corrupt to be free.

wetin concern u with ibori? E thief your money? Are from delta state? Did your saint declare his assets publicly? Where your saint see money dey pay him kids school fees over the years?

This same notorious ibori
The abacha hitman

http://www.saharareporters.com./index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3136:new-us-district-court-documents-detail-james-iboris-criminal-ties-to-the-abacha-regime&catid=42:exclusive&Itemid=160

As usual, the flat heads will say he was witch hunted.

Is this how it's done? One is allowed to go after serving half of his jail term?