On Tuesday April 17th, the global anti-graft campaign has recorded a milestone in the holistic fight against wide-spread corruption that remains the bane of development in many under developed and developing countries. It was on that day that a court in London convicted and sentenced former Governor of Delta State James Ibori to 13 year imprisonment on charges of fraud and money laundering with the presiding Judge, Anthony Pitts describing it as one of the biggest of such cases..
Mr. Ibori who served as governor of Delta state for eight years between 1999 - 2007 was first arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in December 2007 and tried by the Court of Appeal in Kaduna on a hundred and three –count charge. It was when Ibori challenged the jurisdiction of the court to try him that the case was transferred to a Federal High Court in Asaba capital of Delta state so that he could be tried in the state where the alleged offences were committed. Nigerians would quickly recall that the Federal High Court in Asaba discharged him of all the charges preferred against him by the EFCC.
He was however re- arrested in October 2010 in Dubai and was subsequently extradited to Britain to be tried on charges of money laundering, credit card fraud and official theft. And the thirteen years imprisonment that has now been slammed on him is the outcome of that particular trial..
Thus, the credit for the prosecution of Ibori who has now been found to have hundreds of billions of naira belonging to the people of Delta state, rightfully goes to the British judicial system. It is important to know that Mr. Ibori, who was living modestly as a cashier in a store in West London got his hand on the Nigerian national cake when he moved to the country, contested for and won the governorship of Delta state in 1999. Within the span of eight years, Ibori turned himself into a multi-millionaire by international standard, through corruption and theft at the expense of the people of his state. He looted Delta state’s treasury to live a lavish lifestyle while most people in the state lived in poverty.
James Ibori was racking up credit card of over 200 million naira paying 35 million naira on school fees for his three children. He also owned several substantial properties around the world, a private jet and a fleet of insanely expensive luxury cars worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
It is unfortunate, that the man was convicted in London and not in Nigeria; a development that exposed the weakness of the judicial system of the country.
Ibori’s conviction is in fact a big slap to the Nigerian government and its toothless anti-graft bulldog.
In real sense, the fight against corruption in Nigeria has been mostly cosmetic with minor accomplishments being over-blown in the media. The government often uses the fight against corruption to settle scores or intimidate real and perceived opposition. It has been noted that the agencies saddled with the responsibility of fighting corruption are not being pro-active, but only rush to seize the moment after a scam is exposed by legislative probes, as in the recent Pensions fund scam and the capital market fraud. There is a little effort being made to fight corruption by failing to address problems like poverty and greed.
James Ibori’s case is just one out of many involving former governors, lawmakers and top government officials who were dragged to court in very dramatic circumstances but are yet to be tried or convicted. Ibori’s fate should serve as an awakening call to duty to all stakeholders in the fight against corruption. It has proven that there is no safe haven abroad for corrupt leaders who loot state funds It has also underscored the global responsibility for collective effort to stop the devastating effects of corruption in the world.
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