By Ayo Yusuf
Former Delta State governor James Ibori said the latest ruling by a London court ordering the confiscation of his £100 million ($129 million) has finally convinced him the British justice system is not reliable.
He said it would be madness not to appeal such an unjust ruling especially after series of such unfair judgments against him.
In his response to the recent judgment, Ibori said: “Albert Einstein is quoted as saying that the “definition of madness is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result”.
“If that is true then I must be going mad because in over a decade since the British Courts have been persecuting myself and those close to me – I kept believing that justice and fairness would eventually triumph.
“In hearing after hearing through the years, despite some of the most logic-defying rulings against me – I still believed.
“Despite clear evidence of police corruption against the main officer in my case (evidence so strong that it caused the lead prosecutor to resign from my case) I still believed. Despite a clear victory in my 2013 confiscation hearing which left the judge unable to make an order against me, only to have him rule that the prosecution should start the trial afresh some years later – I still believed.
“However, today’s (Friday) ruling from Judge Tomlinson is difficult to comprehend and even harder to accept. I have to move past the fact that the British courts found themselves competent to sit in judgment over contracts awarded in Delta State for contracts that were legitimately awarded and completed.
“I have come to accept my fate despite the inability of the British prosecutors to show any evidence whatsoever of monies defrauded or indeed missing from Delta State.
“Since 2005 the British prosecutors have investigated my assets worldwide; they have had a restraint order in place on most of those assets and they are well aware that the total monetary value of those assets is nowhere close to the sums that were the subject of today’s (Friday) order.
“Notwithstanding the fact that many of the assets are not and have never been owned by me – it seems that if you are my friend and you allowed me to spend some holiday time in your house, then by this order I now own your home and must ask you to sell it to satisfy the order.”
Recall that a state prosecutor on Thursday has asked a London court to order the confiscation of the former governor’s alleged ill gotten wealth.
Mr. Ibori has served term in prison in the UK after being charged with laundering a “corruptly acquired fortune”.
He pleaded guilty in 2012 to 10 counts of fraud and money laundering and received a 13-year jail sentence but after serving half of his prison sentence in pre and post-trial detention, as is common, Ibori returned to Nigeria in 2017 and did not attend Thursday’s Hearing.
Lead prosecution counsel Jonathan Kinnear told the court that the total amount that should be confiscated from Ibori was £101.5 million and that if he did not pay up he should be sentenced to between five and 10 years in prison.
Judge David Tomlinson of Southwark Crown Court is expected to give his order soon after hearing arguments from both sides.
Taking to his Facebook page to react, Mr. Ibori said his hope was “rapidly fading” for a fair hearing.
He also announced plans to seek redress and fight for justice in the highest courts in UK.
He said, “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 realisable 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 prioritising expediency over justice.
“The next step will be to take my fight for justice to the highest courts in the UK.”
