*Ibori is jailed for 13years but is expected to spend only four and a half years in prison.
The chances of ex-Governor James Ibori of Delta State to complete his jail term for money laundering in Nigeria looks remote.
It had been
suggested that he could be repatriated from London to Nigeria to
complete his jail term following an agreement between Abuja and London
for Nigerians currently serving terms there to complete their sentence
at home.
because of this agreement,, there were speculations that Ibori might be transferred home.
A source in the UK High Commission said:
“We are not
planning to allow Ibori be a beneficiary of the exchange policy, it is
not targeted at him. Our laws are very strong on money laundering; the
exchange programme does not cover such people like Ibori.So, he will complete his prison terms in the UK as part of our own contribution to your anti-corruption agenda.If he is brought to Nigeria, we are not sure if he would not be pardoned as a result of pressure from some people”
Responding to a
question, the source added: “The Nigerian government has not made any
request for the repatriation of Ibori home to complete his jail terms.”
A reliable
source in government said: “There is no plan to bring Ibori home under
any guise and we will not do so. We will be sending a wrong signal if we
do so.
“This is an
example of consequence of graft in public office; we want others to
learn from Ibori’s experience. His conviction has strengthened our
anti-corruption campaign.”
When contacted,
the Press and Public Affairs Officer, Robert Fitzpatrick, only said:
“The terms of agreement between the UK and Nigeria are not about one
person, it is a long time agreement.”
The UK Minister
of Justice, Mr. Jeremy Wright, and the Minister of Justice and
Attorney-General of the Federation, Mohammed Bello Adoke (SAN), signed
the prisoners’ exchange agreement.
Wright, who
also met with the Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs, Prof. Viola
Onwuliri, and the Minister of Interior, Abba Moro, said about £1m [about
N280m} would be made available by the British government for a
“comprehensive reform of Nigerian Prisons.”
After a five-year legal ordeal, Ibori was jailed for 13 years in April 2012 by Justice Nicholas Pitts. the official figure alleged to have been laundered by Ibori was £50million, but it could be up to £250milllion.
Pitts found him
guilty of money laundering and conspiracy to make instruments contrary
to section 1 (1) (a) of the criminal act of 1977.
He is however expected to spend only four and a half years in prison
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