The British Government’s resolve to return to Nigeria £4.2million (about N2.2 billion) funds recovered from friends and family members, traced to the former governor of Delta State, James Ibori has stirred up controversy, pitting the Federal Government against the Delta State government.
The Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami yesterday, disclosed that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) has directed that the £4.2million returned loot be deployed to complete the second Niger Bridge, Lagos-Ibadan and the Abuja-Kano expressway projects.
The British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Ms. Catriona Laing, said this was the first tranche of such a planned refund. She noted that the Ibori case is complicated and the United Kingdom authorities were still working on the total and actual amount involved in the case.
Malami, who disclosed this during the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the British and Nigerian Governments, added that the money would also impact significantly on the masses.
His words: “In consonance with existing framework engaged in the management of previous recoveries, the Federal Executive Council has directed that the instant repatriated funds should be deployed towards the completion of the Second Niger Bridge, Abuja-Kano expressway and the Lagos-Ibadan expressway under the coordination of the Nigeria Social Investment Authority (NSIA).”
Malami recalled that the Nigerian government had all along provided the required mutual assistance and back up to the British authorities while the prosecution of James Ibori lasted in London.
Reacting against Malami’s position, the Commissioner for Information in Delta State, Charles Aniagwu, described the plan by the Federal Government to appropriate the recovered fund as the height of wickedness. “Why should Delta State money be used in building Lagos-Ibadan Expressway or Abuja-Kano rail? Is the Federal Government saying it doesn’t know the origin of the money? The money belongs to Delta State. We would have understood if the Federal Government had said it wants to receive 20 per cent, but to take all the money is wrong.”
Also, Chief Press Secretary Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, Mr. Olise Ifeajika, said the N2.2 billion to be refunded by UK government belongs to Delta State, and so it should be transferred to the state as soon as possible. “We want the money, it is for the state, Ibori was never a Federal Minister, but the governor of Delta State”.
It will be recalled that, in February 2012, Ibori pleaded guilty in a UK court to money laundering, conspiracy to defraud, and forgery and was sentenced to 13 years in prison. Some of his associates and family members also received sentences for similar offences.
Ibori, who ruled Delta State from 1999 to 2007, was convicted by a UK court in 2012 and was sentenced to 13 years in jail after admitting fraud of nearly £50 million, even though prosecutors say the actual amount stolen was about £250 million. He was released in 2016 after serving a fraction of his term.
Ibori was released from UK prison in December 9, 2016.
