An informed source, who is a Queens Counsel, a senior member of the English Bar, exclusively told National Mirror last night that no amount of protests would change the tide in favour of Ibori, whose criminal records have been established both in England and in Nigeria. "There is nothing absolute in life, especially in law, but going by the enormity of the charges against him, there is no point telling you now that he won't go to jail. I can place my 37 years of practice at the bar on the line that he will go to jail for a long time.
You see, his tricks of claiming illness and political persecution will not work in the law courts in Britain'' The revelation came just as it was learnt that the Presidency is favourably disposed to keeping Ibori behind bars throughout Jonathan's tenure. The next hearing comes up next month for Ibori, who is being kept at the Wandsworth Prison, in South-West London.
The UK source explained that current trend in the international politics which is against leaders who divert funds and confine their people to penury will actually work against Ibori especially when the law frowns at the practice and the fact that Ibori's associates have already been convicted for being accomplices. ''The evidence to nail him is clear. His wife is there; his solicitor and girl friend and another family member cannot go to jail in isolation. Their convictions mean he has to go too. It is simple." Ibori is at the moment in confinement for charges of corruption, money laundering and stealing of public funds.
He is also battling about 70 criminal charges in a British court noted for its uprightness and firmness in enforcing the criminal penal code. His wife, Theresa is presently serving a five-year jail term in a British prison while his lawyer Bhadresh Gohil, was also handed a seven-year jail term by the Southwalk Crown Court on March this year. He was first charged on April 16, 2011 at the City of Westminster's magistrate court where he was slammed with 25 counts of fraud, money laundering and conspiracy. He is to appear before the court again on September 5.
Sources said Ibori, fondly called Ogidigborigbo, by his friends and supporters, is said to have lost the protection of the Federal Government, which has insisted that the law should take its full course, in a move by President Goodluck Jonathan to project himself and his government to the international community as believers in due process. The former governor regarded as an ex-convict even in Nigeria in certain quarters is at the moment not enjoying any respite from government unlike the influence he enjoyed during the tenure of President Umar Yar 'Ádua. Ibori reportedly has a long list of convictions and criminal activities dating back to his early days in Britain where he along with his wife, then his girlfriend, known as Theresa Nakanda, allegedly operated a modern day 'Bonnie and Clyde' criminal team.
The duo allegedly went on fraud and criminal activities that eventually resulted in various convictions in 1991 and 1992. His wife, now Theresa Nkoyo-Ibori, was first convicted in London in 1990, according to UK court's documents. Ibori was twice convicted for stealing and dishonest acts by UK courts in 1991 and 1992. In his first trial, the then girlfriend (now wife), Theresa Nakanda, was convicted along with Ibori on January 25, 1991 at the Isleworth Crown Court in London. In that trial, Nakanda, who gave her date of birth as January 5, 1968, was convicted on two counts and was fined 300 and 450 pounds. James Ibori, who, according to court documents, gave his 28, 2005 by a certain, Mallam Awwal Yusuf, who testified against Ibori in court.
As the governor, Ibori was said to have diverted over 300m pounds into his personal accounts. Because of the immunity that he enjoyed as a governor and his perceived closeness to the late President Yar'Adua, he was seen to be untouchable until the early morning of Wednesday, December 12, 2007, when the Mallam Nuhu Ribadu-led EFCC trailed him to the Kwara State Governor's Lodge in Abuja where he was reportedly taking refuge and was arrested. Ibori, before then had been on the run from the London Metropolitan Police where he was declared wanted for corruption and money laundering activities. Efforts by the London Met to prosecute him had been stalled by perceived non-cooperation of the Federal Government, leading to insinuations that he was enjoying government' s protection.
The case however suffered a setback when the Court of Appeal sitting in Kaduna transferred it to Asaba, Delta State, where it said the alleged offences were committed. This irked some elders from the state led by a former Minister of Information, Chief Edwin Clark. They alleged that there were fears that the Federal Government was not serious in prosecuting Ibori. Clark, who spoke with newsmen in Abuja on the matter, deplored the way the government was going about the Ibori case, which was then pending at the Federal High Court, Asaba. He had said, "Every attempt is being made by various organisations or members of the Federal Government to thwart the trial of Ibori from taking its normal cause The petition, which was dated March 8, was addressed to the commission' s chairman, Mrs. Farida Waziri.
They demanded the commission to find out whether it was right to use the state government's shares to obtain N44bn private loan from a bank. According to them, there was evidence that shares worth N528.010m in Oceanic Bank belonging to Delta State Government was used to guarantee over N44bn granted Ascot Offshore Nigeria Limited by Intercontinental Bank plc. It was this fresh petition that made the antigraft agency to declare Ibori wanted. Chief Kayode Ajulo, lawyer to Clark said that what was necessary for Ibori to provide answers to salient questions on whether he actually used Oceanic Bank shares belonging to the state government as collateral to Intercontinental Bank for the benefit of Ascot Offshore Nig. Limited, his private company and if he also authorised the sale of the shares to liquidate the loan to Intercontinental Bank.
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