United Kingdom to Return Ex Delta Governor Ibori’s £6.8million of Loot to Nigeria

James Ibori

The UK government is to return an additional 6.8 million pounds of the  confiscated loot of former Delta Governor, James Ibori, to Nigeria.

Rupert Broad, UK Metropolitan Police Senior Investigator, disclosed this in London on Tuesday at a meeting on “Supporting Policing in Nigeria: What Role for Police in the Nigerian Diaspora” held in the House of Commons.

While speaking  on UK and Nigeria’s anti-corruption partnership, Broad said “out of the eight million pounds confiscated from Ibori, 1.2 million pounds had so far been retuned to Nigeria, while the rest was waiting for redistribution as to when it would be sent back to Nigeria.”

He also said that an additional 80 million pounds had been temporarily confiscated from Ibori and his associates, including Patrice Gohil, one of his lawyers.

“Approximately, 80 million pounds is temporarily frozen and a confiscation hearing has been fixed for April 2015, where the judge will determine how much was stolen, after which it would be returned to Nigeria.”

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the British Southcrown  Court in April 2012  sentenced  Ibori  to 13 years jail term for fraud and money laundering.

Broad, who attributed the success of the Ibori case to partnership with the nation’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission ( EFCC), said “the case signified Nigeria’s commitment to the fight corruption.

“In light of the Ibori case, Nigeria has done a fantastic job in tackling corruption.

“Corruption does not go away easily,  addressing it requires continuous process and the UK Metropolitan Police  will continue to collaborate with Nigerian authorities on cross border international investigation.”