The outgoing Justice of Nigeria (NJC), Justice Dahiru Musdapher yesterday lamented over the slow pace of investigation and prosecution of cases in the country in comparison with other foreign countries.

Musdapher cited the recent trial of former Governor James Ibori in the UK and said his investigation alone cost the British taxpayers £14 million (about N3.6billion).

He stated this at his Valedictory Court Session organized to mark his retirement from the bench after 33 years career as a judge.

He said such huge expenses to investigate crime might be part of the reasons for the slow pace of investigation and prosecution of such cases in Nigeria.

Besides, he lamented that the number of charges filed by anti corruption agencies make it cumbersome to prosecute.

The former Justice who described himself as fulfilled man, was called to the Nigerian Bar as a lawyer in 1968.

His retirement takes effect from tomorrow when he turns 70 years.

Billyonaire: Can the UK judicial system tell us what they spent the money on ?

Former Delta State governor, Chief James Ibori

By Olawale Olaleye

Embattled former Delta State governor, Chief James Ibori, who is confronting hearing in London for income laundering has reached a counterclaim discount agreement with a British police, in a bid to digest his trial.

The British military had progressing forsaken crime charges leveled opposite a former governor, whose associates have been convicted for income laundering offences, withdrawal him to face income laundering charges.

A source pronounced a former administrator and a military are set to adopt Monday a terms of a counterclaim bargain, that both a assign and a counterclaim teams were vetting all by final week.

“Apart from a simple fact that such a thing will usually come into being by a justice proceeding, one would be right to contend a counterclaim discount between Ibori and a London Metropolitan Police is already a finished deal. It has been discussed, concluded upon, a terms already settled; all that stays is a justice pronouncement,” a source said.

He pronounced both a assign and Ibori have turn hearing sap and were looking brazen to discerning fortitude of a case, that began about 7 years ago.

According to him, a group of British investigators have not done most swell in their hunt for justification that has cost a British taxpayers over £14 million.

Besides, a hearing would cost Ibori some-more if he insists on full-scale hearing to infer his innocence.

Ibori has been attempting to quarrel off mixed suits during a same time – in Nigeria, Dubai and now Britain – elite opposite him and some of his associates.

In Jun 2010, a Southwark Court in London convicted his sister, Christine Ibori-Ibie, for income laundering and debt fraud.

The 12-member jury hold that she was guilty as charged for assisting her hermit to misappropriate about $101.5 million while he was in office.

Ibori-Ibie and another of Ibori’s associate, Udoamaka Okoronkwo-Onuigbo, were after condemned to 21 years in jail in London for their opposite roles in helping a former administrator to refine his loot.

The source pronounced Ibori, who had betrothed to retire from politics, has suffered financial reversal due to a high authorised fees he has to cough adult in fortifying his reputation.

He pronounced a dropping of a crime charges by a British military was a master stroke, given a Federal High Court Asaba, had discharged an progressing box a Economic and Financial Crimes Commission elite opposite a former administrator for miss of justification and a British military have no uninformed justification to means a crime assign solely those supposing by a EFCC.

The elect indicted him of hidden about $292 million and about N44 billion during his eight-year reign as governor.

In 2007, a United Kingdom justice had solidified his resources value $35 million and he was after hold in tie with charges that he allegedly stole additional $85 million during his tenure.

He was also indicted of laundering Delta State resources value 70 million pound, sterling.

THISDAY learnt that Ibori had primarily opposite a counterclaim discount choice until his lawyers told him that a British jurisprudence had altered extremely given a fight on terrorism began.

The counsel had cited a hearing of one Mr. Anoir, an Arab who was accosted during a Heathrow Airport with a container containing millions of dollars, though he refused to divulge a source when he was arraigned, severe a assign to infer that a income had an bootleg origin.

However, a British military valid a box by inference; observant that given a indicted had refused to state a source of a funds, it was reasonable to think that a start was suspect.

It was learnt that given then, a box had turn a precedent, one that a assign had indicated a willingness to use opposite Ibori.

The former governor’s counsel had told him that a prosecution, instead of proof anything over reasonable doubt, would be means to remonstrate a jury about a guess of ill poise opposite Ibori, by deduction on his source of wealth, to secure a conviction.

FORMER Delta State Governor James Onanefe Ibori yesterday denied pleading guilty to corruption charges during his trial in a London court on Monday. He now cliams that he only pleaded guilty to money laundering charges.

In a statement yesterday, Mr. Tony Eluemunor, Media Assistant to Ibori, said that both the local and foreign media glossed over the real facts in the Ibori’s case. Part of Eluemunor’s statement read: “…the world was made to believe that Ibori’s guilty plea was a sudden turnaround and not a well-deliberated act that was part of a plea bargain deal. But it is on record that several Nigerian newspapers of last Sunday published different versions of that self same story; that Ibori would plead guilty as part of a plea bargain arrangement.

“Of course, that plea bargain deal would only kick in with Ibori’s pleading guilty; which he did this week Monday. After that plea, which had been successfully foretold by Nigerian newspapers, both the prosecution and the defence counsel were to return on April 16 and 17 to make their needed statements. Unfortunately, while Ibori’s lead counsel stayed true to this time-tested legal procedure, the prosecution counsel went rogue and began to make wild and unfounded statements aimed at nothing but self-glorification and Ibori’s demonisation. What was not clear to Nigerians was that the prosecution lawyers were labouring at damage control as the publication in several Nigerian newspapers of last Sunday had leaked out the secret that the seven-year investigation against Ibori had not only cost the British tax-payer £14 million but was funded by the DfID – the Department of Foreign Development .

“The prosecution then laboured hard to justify the money spent and stave off another official inquiry into the much investigated London Metropolitan Police, that have been accused often of grave misdeeds. Consequently, the London Metropolitan Police invited droves of media agencies and several statements to justify their jamborees in the sun, whereby agents visited the far-flung corners of the Earth with little to show for their efforts. They even visited Nigeria three times, and lowly policemen who had never shaken hands with their British superiors had dinner with former President Olusegun Obasanjo in the deep recesses of Aso Rock Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Some of the statements were contradictory; some totally wild and even insane…”

The statement continued: “What matters to Ibori is that all corruption charges were dropped by the London Police for lack of evidence. Any claim that any corruption charge is facing him is pure propaganda. He did not plead guilty to any corruption charge. With the corruption charges removed because they could not be proved beyond any reasonable doubt, the police stayed with money laundering charges, to be proved by nothing but inference – the convincing of a jury of white persons. No proof, no evidence would be needed then, no documentary truths would be established.

“The British and the Nigerian establishments have been driving this case to a pre-determined end, and a battle weary Ibori was advised to plead guilty, end what had promised to be a long-drawn trial, and begin to rebuild his life which had been tossed about in an ocean of legal controversy and trials because of politics – since 2003, that is nine long years ago. Also, Ibori did not want a long-drawn trial where Nigeria’s name would be bandied about in a foreign court.”

Billyonaire: Can the UK judicial system tell us what they spent the money on ?