UK to Return Ex Delta Governor Ibori’s £6.8m of Loot to Nigeria

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.”
Similarly, Nsikan Etuk, the Director of the UK
Nigeria Police Forum, said that the diaspora
was a powerful tool for the reformation of the
nation’s police force.
Etuk, who spoke on “Supporting Policing in
Nigeria”, expressed the commitment of the
Forum in collaborating with government in
tackling challenges impeding efficiency in
policing in the country.
He said that the Forum, whose membership
included serving and retired police personnel,
was established following challenges facing
the Nigerian community in the UK.
In the same vein, Kunle Bamgbose, the
Nigerian Deputy High Commissioner to the
UK, said the nation’s police officers were
among the brightest in Africa, adding that
they were only impeded by operational
challenges.
He said “inadequate equipment such as
communication gadgets, the lack of efficient
forensic laboratories and other logistic
problems are some of the challenges facing
the police force.”
Bamgbose, however, said “it is difficult to
impose UK policing culture in Nigeria
because the environments are different.”
According to him, partnership in training and
capacity building of officers will be an ideal
area of collaboration.
The meeting, which had participants from the
Nigerian community, was chaired by Meg
Hillier , the Chair of the UK All Party
Parliamentary Group on Nigeria.