Reacting to Thursday’s proceeding on his Facebook page, Ibori said he would seek redress and fight for justice in the highest courts in the UK.
By Jeffrey Agbo
Ex-governor of Delta State, James Ibori, has said that his hopes of having a fair trial was “rapidly fading” after the UK government applied to confiscate more than £100 million ($129 million) linked to him.
The former governor served jail term in the UK after being charged with money laundering.
He pleaded guilty in 2012 to 10 counts of fraud and money laundering and received a 13-year jail sentence.
Having served half of his prison sentence in pre and post-trial detention, as is common, Ibori returned to Nigeria in 2017.
On Thursday, state prosecutor, Jonathan Kinnear, asked Southwark Crown Court in London to order the confiscation.
Mr Kinnear told the court that the total amount that should be confiscated from Ibori was £101.5 million and that if he did not pay up he should be sentenced to between five and 10 years in prison.
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Judge David Tomlinson is expected to give his order soon after hearing arguments from both sides.
Reacting to Thursday’s proceeding on his Facebook page, Ibori said he would seek redress and fight for justice in the highest courts in the UK.
He said, “Finally, the shenanigans in the Southwark Crown Court are drawing to a close. Judge Tomlinson is due to make a confiscation order which should be both realisable and not punitive.
“However, after what transpired in court today my hopes are rapidly fading for any degree of fairness.
“In the 2 years it has taken to write this judgment it seems apparent that he has forgotten many of the salient points and is prioritising expediency over justice.
“The next step will be to take my fight for justice to the highest courts in the UK.”