[size=14pt]Ibori’s election records missing •In INEC’s office[/size]
Written by Lanre Adewole, Abuja
Monday, 14 June 2010

A new twist has crept into the corruption probe of former governor of Delta State, James Ibori, with all documents relating to his election as governor in 1999 and 2003 reportedly missing in the custody of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Consequent upon this discovery, security agencies have reportedly launched a probe into the circumstances leading to the disappearance of the documents, which enabled him to contest the governorship elections in the state in both 1999 and 2003 when he sought re-election.

The discovery, according to top security sources, was said to have been made about three months ago, when the erstwhile chairman of the electoral body, Professor Maurice Iwu, was still in the saddle.

It was gathered that the documents he filed with the electoral body became an issue when the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) moved to get more evidences on his alleged shady past to strengthen the case on his planned extradition from the United Arab Emirates to the United Kingdom and subsequently to Nigeria for trial over alleged corrupt practices in both countries.

Nigerian Tribune learnt that even before his eventual arrest in Dubai, the capital of UAE, both the commission and the Metropolitan Police in the United Kingdom had been exchanging information and ideas on how to get him to face justice in both countries.

The two agencies were said to have agreed to exchange documents on his past convictions in the United Kingdom and his claim in Nigeria that he had never been convicted, with the Met Police said to have made available documents showing that he had earlier been convicted in the UK, while the anti-graft agency reportedly pledged to make available documents on his claim that he was never convicted.

The commission, according to the Nigerian Tribune sources, naturally turned to the electoral commission which was in possession of the forms he filled while seeking to contest the governorship, in which he was said to have sworn on oath, in the conviction column, that he was never a convict.

Nigerian Tribune learnt that it was at this stage that it was discovered that there were no documents whatsoever in the custody of the commission to show that Ibori ever had any dealings with it.

The anti-corruption agency was said to have given the electoral commission time to search for the file, with sources saying that after about three months, “it became obvious that his file and all documents relating to him had been deliberately removed, obviously to cover up on his conviction status.”

Security agencies were said to have stepped in at this point, to unravel the disappearance of his election documents.

It was further gathered that with his conviction documents firmly in the possession of the anti-corruption agency, apart from the corruption case, he would be charged with perjury and obtaining under false pretence, once the INEC documents in which he claimed not to have been convicted before were available.

Sources contended that if Ibori could lie under oath and use it as a platform to be in charge of Delta State’s funds for eight years, he could be treated by the commission as a fraudster and charged with obtaining under false pretence.

Ibori, had before his re-election in 2003, battled a civil suit instituted by Mr Goodnews Agbi, seeking to disqualify him from contesting the election over his alleged conviction by a Bwari Upper Area Court, Abuja, in 1995 for alleged theft.

Though he was cleared under controversial circumstances by the trial Abuja High Court and the Court of Appeal, Abuja, the disappearance of his case file in police custody then, raised a lot of dust.

Nigerian Tribune was told that the security agents probing the missing file in INEC custody were looking at the possibility of Ibori financially inducing some unscrupulous members of the commission to have the documents removed in order to forestall possible prosecution for perjury, when the fresh onslaught against him by security agencies began.

The missing documents, according to sources, were also primed to be used in his trial in the UK, where he is facing money laundering charges that had seen his sister and mistress jailed five years each.

The documents are to prove that he lied about his conviction status in Nigeria, with the perjury case being used to show that he has always been fraudulent and has no integrity.

It was learnt that the Met Police would not be bereft of evidence from Nigeria to nail him in the UK, as the EFCC was said to have been supplying them with necessary documents and witnesses, which were said to have been crucial to the conviction of Ibori’s sister and mistress.

When contacted, commission’s spokesperson, Mr. Femi Babafemi, did not confirm nor deny the story but simply said: “I can’t speak on that because I don’t work in INEC.”

http://www.tribune.com.ng/index.php/front-page-news/6788-iboris-election-records-missing-in-inecs-office

Iwu's INEC is now scared of the implications of validating the character of that criminal bastar'd Ibori.
Concerted efforts must be made to fish out everybody involved and to deal with them to the full extent of the law. In the meantime, all the proceeds of Ibori's stolen wealth must be tracked down and impounded, both at home and abroad.