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‘I am a mad man if I do not contest this’ — Ibori reacts to £101.5m forfeiture order

Published

10 months ago

July 23, 2023

James Onanefe Ibori

‘I am a mad man if I do not contest this’ — Ibori reacts to £101.5m forfeiture order

James Onanefe Ibori, a former Governor of Delta State, has broken silence over the UK’s Southwark Crown Court’s ruling to forfeit £101.5 million or risk eight years in jail.

In a Facebook statement, the former governor said that after more than a decade of confiscating and investigating his assets, Judge David Tomlinson’s July 21 ruling demonstrated that he could no longer trust the court to treat him fairly or give him justice, and that he would appeal the ruling.

Ibori had previously spent a five-year jail term in the UK from 2012 to 2016, after pleading guilty to ten counts of fraud and money laundering charges. In 2020, the UK authorities reopened charges against him, tying him to illicitly obtained assets worth £117 million.

On Friday, Tomlinson, a Southwark Crown Court Judge, ruled that Ibori must pay £101.5 million right away or face an eight-year prison sentence.

Responding, Ibori wrote:

“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.

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“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 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; 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 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.

“The Order made today was to be paid immediately, this was made in the full knowledge that it could take many months to actually realise the sale of many of these assets.

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“There is an eight-year default sentence, which means that if I do not co-operate and pay nothing at all, then the prosecution can apply for the imposition of the default sentence. However, as the prosecution already has a Restraint Order over the assets – the situation of my not co-operating or paying should not arise.

“However, an issue arises if my Restrained Assets are sold, and the total realised from the sale does not equal the amount in the Order, then the Prosecution can still apply for part of the default sentence to be applied, but they could only ask for a sliding scale reduction of the eight years default sentence based on the amounts that remain outstanding.

“If such an application were to be made it would be vigorously contested. In the normal course of events any talk of a default sentence would normally be stayed until any outstanding Appeal has been concluded.

“The Judge in this case has appeared to have cast aside any pretence of impartiality and has made an Order which is both wholly unrealistic and unrealisable. He has completely disregarded any arguments, evidence or expert witnesses in my favour. It was apparent during these last two days that he has forgotten many of the important elements of the case which is unsurprising as it almost 2 years since the case concluded.

“It has taken him two years to write this Judgment and in the interim he has presided over hundreds of cases, but I refuse to make excuses for him.

“At this point in time words fail me and so the question for me as I take my case to the Court of Appeal, is, if I continue to believe that I may finally get some Justice, is this the definition of madness? I know one thing for sure, that if I do not go to the Court of Appeal to contest this outrageous Order the people will definitely say that I am a madman!”

Related Topics:Featured forfeiture James Onanefe Ibori

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Suspect narrates why he killed sugar mummy in Delta

Published

13 hours ago

May 8, 2024

Trends Admin

Suspect narrates why he killed sugar mummy in Delta

The suspect arrested in connection with the murder of a lady, Glory Akpaku, in Delta State, Akpoveta School, has narrated how he allegedly killed the victim by stabbing her multiple times.

According to an interrogation video shared on X.com by the Delta State Police Public Relations Officer, Bright Edafe, on Monday, the suspect disclosed that the victim was his sugar mummy before her demise.

PUNCH Metro gathered from the video that things went sour between Akpoveta and the late Akpaku over the sum of N100,000 he allegedly kept with the deceased for safekeeping, but which the deceased allegedly refused to give him when he needed the money.

The suspect claimed that he had gone to Akpaku to demand the money but, instead of receiving it, she insisted that she would give it to him after returning from the market.

The suspect narrated further that he threatened the victim to report their relationship to her son, but the victim threatened back that if he did so, she would not give him the money in her custody.

He added that the threat from his alleged lover infuriated him, which led him to stab her with a knife in the neck, hand, and stomach.

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Akpoveta narrated in pidgin English (now translated), “She asked me to save some money with her and that she would return the money to me later. But when I needed the money, she refused to give it to me. Rather, she became angry.

“She asked me to escort her to the market, and I thought she would give me the money, but she insisted that she would give it to me after she returned from the market.

“I told her that I would tell her child, and she said if I told the child, she would not return my money. While she was going in front, I took a knife that I had with me and stabbed her in the neck, hand, and stomach.”

The suspect stated further that he regretted his action but blamed the devil for it.

Reacting to the confession, Edafe urged members of the public to learn from it.

The PPRO wrote, “I share stories like this so we can learn from the mistakes of others. So this suspect allegedly murdered his sugar mummy over her failure to give him back the money she was helping him save. When asked why he did it, he said, ‘NA DEVIL WORK’.”

Meanwhile, giving further updates on the incident, the PPRO noted that the incident happened in April and the suspect would be charged in court upon the conclusion of the ongoing investigation.

“The incident happened in April. He will be charged in court as soon as the investigation is concluded,” Edafe concluded.

Suspect narrates why he killed sugar mummy in Delta

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Just in: EFCC arraigns ex-court registrar over N3.8m fraud

Published

13 hours ago

May 8, 2024

Trends Admin

Just in: EFCC arraigns ex-court registrar over N3.8m fraud

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arraigned a former Registrar of the Upper Sharia Court 1 Gusau of Zamfara state.

He was arraigned on a two-count charge for allegedly stealing the sum of N3, 837,634 according to the Sokoto zonal directorate office of the commission.

Abubakar Garba Dandare’s arraignment was a sequel to the offence he allegedly committed while as Registrar, Upper Sharia Court 1 Gusau, Zamfara state.

He was arraigned before Justice Bello Muhammad Shinkafi of the Zamfara State High Court.

The anti-graft directorate explained that the problem of Dandare began when a petitioner alleged that he dishonestly misappropriated the money being retention fee paid by the Ministry of Finance Zamfara State for the family of late Alhaji Ladan Mada, who was a contractor to the state government.

Mada, who died on 13th May 2010, was awarded a contract by the Zamfara state government for the construction of two student hostels at Government College, Talata Mafara.

The family heirs approached the Registrar to know why the retention money was not disbursed to the family and the Registrar denied knowledge about the money.

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A committee was constituted in 2022 by the Honourable Grand Khadi of Zamfara state, Dr. Dahiru Muhammad, to investigate the matter and it was established that a UBA cheque countersigned by Judge Almustapha Balarabe and Registrar Abubakar Garba Dandare was given to one Nasir Lawal (a Court Clerk) for the withdrawal of the said amount, which was given to Registrar Dandare, hence the petition.

The committee upon conclusion of investigations directed Dandare to refund the money meant for the heirs of late Alhaji Mada.

Forensic investigations further revealed that the purported signature of Aminu Ladan Mada being bandied by the then Registrar Dandare was fake as it was forged.

However, count one of the charges reads: “That you, Abubakar Garba Dandare, Male, Adult, while being the Registrar Upper Sharia Court 1, Gusau Zamfara State, on or about the 4th day of December 2010, at Gusau, within the Judicial Division of the High Court of Zamfara State, while, being entrusted with the sum of N3,837,634 (Three Million Eight Hundred and Thirty Four Naira) retention fee paid by Ministry of Finance Zamfara State for the family of late Alhaji Ladan Mada, did dishonestly misappropriated the money to your personal use in violation of the mode in which the trust is to be discharged and thereby committed the offence of Criminal Breach of Trust contrary to Section 311 of the Penal Code Cap 89 Laws of Northern Nigeria 1963 and punishable under Section 312 of the same law.”

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Before taking his plea, the defence counsel, Bello Umar, drew the attention of the court that the charge under which the suspect was being arraigned was defective; but Prosecution Counsel, P. A. Attah, countered as he cited Court of Appeal decisions along with the ACJA 2015.

Justice Mohammad Shinkafi granted the accused bail with two sureties in the sum of N5 million each.

Accordingly, Justice Shinkafi also directed that a surety must deposit a Certificate of Landed Property within Gusau Metropolis, while both sureties must deposit their passport photographs with the Court.

The Judge further ruled that the accused be remanded with the Nigeria Correctional Services pending the fulfillment of the bail conditions and adjourned the matter to 6th June 2024 for trial.

Just in: EFCC arraigns ex-court registrar over N3.8m fraud

metro

Bride cancels wedding as groom insists on living in family house

Published

13 hours ago

May 8, 2024

Trends Admin

Bride cancels wedding as groom insists on living in family house

Florence Friday, a bride-to-be reportedly called off her wedding over the groom’s refusal to leave his family house.

The wedding, which was slated for Saturday, May 4th, 2024, in Farin Lamba, Vom, Jos South Local Government Area of Plateau State, was canceled before the event took place.

According to reports, Florence, the bride-to-be, asked for N30,000 from her groom-to-be, Morgak James, on March 28th to reserve her wedding gown. Morgak, unable to provide the full sum, offered N15,000 and promised to complete it the following week.

Florence, furious, insisted on receiving the entire sum by the end of the week, threatening to cancel the wedding.

It was reported that two days later, Morgak managed to gather the N30,000 and sent it to Florence to proceed with the booking. However, this resolution led to another condition from the bride-to-be.

It was also gathered that Florence reportedly requested Morgak to move out of his family house and get his apartment.

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According to a source close to the couple, after much deliberation, they agreed to stay in the family home for two months after the wedding before getting their apartment.

This arrangement was agreed upon before Morgak began the introductions, church signature, and payment of the bride price.

However, Morgak was taken aback just before the big day when he received a phone call informing him that his bride-to-be had canceled the wedding because he had not parked out of his family home.

The source further revealed that Morgak had invested significantly in the wedding.

Despite this, Florence’s family had canceled their introduction dates more than three times for a variety of reasons, including visiting a pupil at school.

Our sources also stated that her family once canceled their introduction a day before the wedding.

Speaking on the cancellation of her wedding, Florence said, “I’ve never seen a responsible man who would bring his bride into his family house for his parents to take care of or claim he doesn’t have money while planning his wedding.”