Court Issues 14-Day Ultimatum Over Ibori’s Alleged $15m Bribe To EFCC

The Federal Government, yesterday, approached the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court, asking it to order the immediate forfeiture of $15 million allegedly given to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, by the jailed former Governor of Delta State, Chief James Ibori, as bribe.

Federal Government, via an ex-parte originating summons it filed in court, yesterday, said the cash was received by officers of the EFCC from an undisclosed agent of the ex-governor in 2007, as a bribe to compromise his investigation.

It told the court that the commission under its former Chairman, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, deposited the money into the strong room No 1 of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, on April 26, 2007, stressing that Ibori has since denied giving the cash to either the EFCC or any of its officers.

Consequently, Federal Government, alongside the Attorney General of the Federation and the EFCC, which were listed in the suit as the 1st to 3rd applicants respectively, yesterday, beseeched the court for “an interim order forfeiting the sum of $15,000, 000 (Fifteen million dollars) being an unclaimed property in possession of the Central Bank of Nigeria, to the Federal Government of Nigeria pending the publication and hearing of the motion on notice for the final forfeiture order of the said property.”

As well as, “an order of this honourable court directing the publication in any national newspaper of the interim order under relief one above, for anyone who is interested in the property, to appear before this honourable court to show cause within 14 days, why the final order of forfeiture should not be made in favour of Federal Government of Nigeria.”

VANGUARD