ibori upon arrival in nigeria
A former Governor of Delta State, James Ibori, still
has 170 charges against him pending before a Federal
High Court.
SUNDAY PUNCH gathered on Saturday that the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission would
soon arraign him on charges bordering on corruption.
Ibori arrived Nigeria through the Nnamdi Azikiwe
International Airport, Abuja.
According to eyewitnesses, the former governor came
into Abuja using a British Airways flight that touched
down at the airport around 5.30am.
Family members and well-wishers were at the NAIA to
receive the former governor, as airport security
officials and some staff of the Federal Airports
Authority of Nigeria exchanged pleasantries with him.
It was learnt that the governor arrived with a British
Airways Boeing 777 aircraft with registration G-VIID.
He travelled to Oghara, his hometown, through the
Benin airport while his family, friends and associates
waited in vain for him at the Osubi airport, near
Effurun in Delta State, where he was expected to land
directly from Abuja.
A source, who confided in one of our correspondents,
said the former governor would still answer questions
from the EFCC and that the commission would soon
invite him.
Following his conviction in the United Kingdom, there
were criticisms against the Nigerian justice system,
especially an Asaba High Court which had struck out
170 charges which the EFCC had brought against
Ibori.
However, the EFCC took the matter to the Appeal
Court where a three-man panel of justices on May 15,
2014, at the Benin Division of the Court of Appeal,
ruled that the ex-governor, who is currently serving a
13-year jail term in a London prison, has a case to
answer.
The Appellate Court panel led by Justice Ibrahim
Saulawa ordered that the case be reassigned to
another judge of the Federal High Court for
continuation of trial.
The EFCC subsequently said in a statement in 2014
that the ex-governor would be rearrested upon the
completion of his prison sentence.
The EFCC statement read, “With this judgment, the
coast is clear for Ibori to face trial in Nigeria upon the
completion of his jail term in London.”
Attempts to speak with the EFCC spokesman, Mr.
Wilson Uwujaren, on Saturday proved abortive.
However, a source within the commission said, “Ibori
still has 170 charges pending against him. Also, the
Appeal Court has given us the go-ahead to prosecute
him and this ruling has not been upturned by the
Supreme Court.
“As things stand, the EFCC has the right to arrest him
at anytime. Ibori, among other allegations, was
accused of embezzling N40bn which belonged to the
state. Also, a former Chairman of the EFCC, Nuhu
Ribadu, alleged that the former governor attempted to
bribe him with $15m cash.”
We will meet Ibori again — DSS DG
The Department of State Services on Saturday said it
would soon meet with Ibori again to discuss issues of
national interest.
The Director-General of the DSS, Mr. Lawal Daura,
who disclosed this to some journalists on Saturday,
confirmed that the service had a brief meeting with
Ibori on arrival from the UK.
Daura stated, “He met me for a short debriefing
session and the way forward. Also, to welcome him
back to his fatherland. We are also meeting soon to
discuss issues of interest affecting the nation.”
The DSS boss did not explain the issues of national
interest.
The ex-governor was picked up by the DSS for what a
security source described as a ‘routine check.’
It was gathered that his friends, family and associates
were astonished when they learnt that the ex-convict
had arrived in the country unheralded.
They were said to have been planning to give him a
heroic welcome devoid of his status as an ex-convict.
Our correspondent gathered that Daura instructed that
Ibori be brought to his office at Aso Drive, Abuja for
questioning.
Ibori was said to have been accompanied to the DSS
headquarters, which is also known as Yellow House,
with a few associates.
Among them was the immediate past Governor of
Delta State, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan.
At the DSS office, he was said to have been
interrogated on his sojourn in the United Kingdom.
A source said the interrogation lasted a few hours and
that Ibori was warned against what was described as
“excessive celebration.”
The source, who was privy to the meeting with the
DSS, specifically said that Ibori should avoid the Warri
airport, where his admirers, associates and friends
had gathered to give him a heroic reception.
The source said, “It was not an arrest as being
speculated.
“The fact of the matter is that, being a high-profile ex-
convict, the security agency said he needed to be
debriefed and also cautioned about his utterances.
“He was warned not to do any celebration at any
airport, including Warri.
“That was why Ibori had to fly to Benin before heading
to his village.
“The DSS warned him also to be careful of his
utterances and not to complicate the security problem
in the South-South region.”
He added that the security operatives asked the
former governor not to cause any problem either in his
state or the country through his utterances.
It was also gathered that Ibori was told that he could
be summoned to appear at the DSS office at anytime
for further interrogation.
The former governor, it was learnt, promised not to
jeopardise the fragile peace in his region.
He was also said to have stated that he was ready to
honour any invitation “at anytime.”
PDP not excited about Ibori’s return
Meanwhile, the opposition Peoples Democratic Party
was said to be weary of associating with the former
governor.
A highly placed member of the party, who spoke on
condition of anonymity, said it would be wrong of the
party to start celebrating Ibori’s arrival.
He recalled that the PDP was unable to recover from
the bashing it received when it named a former
Governor of Edo State, Chief Lucky Igbinedion, as a
member of the PDP governorship campaign
committee in the state.
“There should be morality in politics, no matter how
small. We celebrated Igbinedion and the late former
Governor of Bayelsa State, Chief DSP Alamieseigha,
who was also an ex-convict. They are all members of
our party,” the source added.
He said that the party needed to re-examine its
position on many issues if it was serious about
regaining power in 2019.
Why we let Ibori go — UK
The United Kingdom authorities have explained why it
allowed Ibori to return to Nigeria.
Responding to an inquiry by SUNDAY PUNCH , the
spokesman for the British High Commission in Abuja,
Mr. Joseph Abuku, stated that the ex-convict’s return
to Nigeria would not prevent UK prosecutors from
pursuing confiscation proceedings against him.
Abuku said, “Having been jailed for his crimes in the
UK and served his sentence, Mr. Ibori has now
returned to Nigeria. The UK will continue to pursue,
vigorously, the legal process to confiscate, and return
to Nigeria, Ibori’s criminal assets.
“The UK is determined to lead the way in a
coordinated global effort to bring the corrupt to
justice.”
He stated further that Ibori’s conviction and eventual
return to Nigeria was a clear message that anyone
who wants to make UK a safe haven for money
laundering would be prosecuted.
“That is why it was vital we sent a clear message to
the world that James Ibori, a man who stole millions
from the Nigerian Government and laundered those
proceeds in the UK, has been held to account.
“Mr. Ibori’s return will not prevent prosecutors from
pursuing confiscation proceedings against him,”
Abuku noted.
Markets, shops shut
The oil-rich Delta State on Saturday came to a
standstill as the people of the state shut markets,
shops and offices to witness the homecoming of the
erstwhile governor of the state.
Ibori’s homecoming was sort of a carnival as
politicians from across all political divides within and
outside stormed Oghara, the country home of the
Delta politician, to give him a rousing welcome.
Politicians, traders, market women and civil servants,
who had laid siege at the Osubi airstrip in Okpe Local
Government Area, where Ibori was expected to arrive
from Abuja, were however left heartbroken when
news broke that the former governor had landed in
Benin, the Edo State capital, and was already on his
way to Oghara.
Markets, shops and offices in Oghara were completely
shut while partial activities were recorded in Sapele,
Effurun, Okpe, Warri and surrounding cities over
Ibori’s arrival.
Supporters and sympathisers of the former governor
started trooping onto the Osubi airstrip as early as
7:30am on Saturday, while Oghara and other
surrounding towns were besieged ahead of his
coming.
Ibori, whose flight was scheduled to land at the airport
at 11:30am, however, did not arrive until 2:25pm
when a chartered plane, IZYAIR, with registration
number India Zulu Yanky (5NIZY) conveying him
accompanied by prominent politicians and members
of his immediate family including his daughter,
Erhiatake Ibori, landed at the Benin airport.
A huge crowd of enthusiasts, including politicians and
traditional rulers, who had mounted a wait for him at
Osubi since about 7:30am, upon hearing that the
former governor was no longer landing on the airstrip,
hurriedly made their way to Oghara.
Our correspondent, who was at the Osubi airstrip,
near Effurun, saw politicians including the serving
Secretary to the State Government, Mr. Festus Ovie
Ages; Chief Andy Osawota; Chief Patrick Five; Chief
Dennis Emonemu; and Olorogun Paul Abu.
Others were the Udu Council Chairman, Mr. Solomon
Kpomah; his Sapele, Okpe and Ethiope West
counterparts, Mr. Ejiafe Odebala, Mr. Godwin Edjiyere
and Mr. Solomon Golley.
The Managing Director of the Delta State Oil
Producing Area Development Commission, Mr.
William Makinde; Mr. Vincent Uduaghan; and Mr. John
Nani were also there.
Others were Pius Ovbije, a commissioner on the board
of DESOPADEC; Mr. Emmanuel Ighomena, a Senior
Special Assistant to the governor; Mr. Emmanuel
Ganiga, National President of the UK branch of UPU;
Chairman of DSIEC, Mr. Moses Ogbe; and a member
of the Delta State House of Assembly representing
Okpe constituency, Sheriff Oborevwori.
At Oghara, a carnival of sorts awaiting the former
governor made movement impossible. Ibori was
shielded into his home by some of his close
associates and security men clothed in camouflage
when his flight landed Oghara at about 3:45pm.
Hundreds of people who had been keeping vigil defied
all forms of protocol to catch a glimpse of the ex-
governor, who is popularly referred to as the political
oracle of Niger Delta, where he held sway before
being jailed by a British Court.
Ibori’s strongman and close confidant, Senator
Ighoyota Amori, who spoke with journalists in front of
Ibori’s mansion in Oghar, said, “We are happy that
Ibori is back, people are jubilating, the crowd you see
here and the enthusiasm that has been displayed
today showed that we really missed him.”
Olorogun Paul Abu also said, “We’re excited our
brother is back hale and hearty. Today is a
remarkable day and a day of joy.
“Whether you accept it or not, Ibori is a phenomenon
and an institution in Nigeria’s political landscape. Our
people need his contributions towards their
advancement. Politics in Urhoboland will surely wear
a new look.”
Ibori was not, however, allowed to speak to journalists
who had been waiting to have a chat with him as he
was ushered into the waiting hands of senior
politicians and Urhobo leaders who had been waiting
for a closed-door session inside one the open rooms
in his compound.
Journalists were not given access to the apartment
either.
I have no comment on Ibori — Clark
A former Federal Commissioner of Information, Chief
Edwin Clark, has said he has no comment to make on
the return of Ibori to Nigeria.
Clark, who was one of the antagonists of the former
governor, said he would not make any comment on
Ibori’s release.
The elder statesman and other elders from the state
had written a petition to the EFCC on alleged looting of
resources of the state when the former governor was
at the helm of affairs in the state.
But when confronted to make a comment on the
release of his former governor at his residence in
Abuja on Saturday, Clark merely said, “No comment. I
say no comment.”Punch
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