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Tag: Ibori

  • We didn’t say Ibori owns 30 per cent of Oando, says British prosecutor

    We didn’t say Ibori owns 30 per cent of Oando, says British prosecutor

    British Crown prosecutor yesterday denied suggesting jailed former Delta State Governor James Ibori owns 30 per cent of Oando Plc.

    Prosecutor Sasha Wass’ statement forced the court to rise for 10 minutes to allow calm to return, especially between her and Ibori’s counsel, QC Ivan Krolic and QC Bailey for Oando.

    DC Peter Clark was under cross examination by Krolic when he referred to Wass, as having alleged that Ibori owns 30 per cent of Oando.

    Cutting in suddenly, Sasha said: ”Your honour, Mr Krolic should use the correct statement used by the prosecution…The Crown has carefully chosen their words; it may well not be correct to say that the Crown said that Mr Ibori owns 30 per cent of Oando.”

    As if he did not hear what Sasha said correctly, Krolic proceeded to say: “Your honour, I recall Mr Bailey, counsel to Oando asking the prosecution to withdraw what she said about Ibori owning 30 per cent of Oando.

    “If my learned friend, Sasha did not allege that Mr Ibori has 30 per cent share in Oando, there would have been no need for Oando’s counsel, QC Bailey to be in sitting in the court.”

    The judge, Anthony Pitts, trying to save the situation said: “ The prosecution did not suggest that Mr Ibori owns 30 per cent of Oando.”

    Relying on the sudden turn and retraction from the prosecution and confirmed by the judge, Krolic said: “It appears that there are those that are involved with the media that have concluded that Mr Ibori had 30 per cent of Oando. If in fact my learned friend, referring to the Crown Prosecutor, Sasha Wass, did not say or mean that, the media should be corrected.”

    The British prosecution’s reference that Ibori claimed that he owned 30 per cent of Oando became a sensational news, triggering an immediate panic that sent Oando’s share price down by about 25 per cent within three trading sessions at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

    Ibori, who had pleaded guilty and serving a jail term in United Kingdom for corruption, is undergoing asset confiscation proceedings at the Southwark Crown Court in London. The proceedings started Monday last week.

    The management of Oando has consistently maintained that Ibori has no such significant shareholding in the petroleum-marketing company.

    At a media parley in Lagos, Deputy Managing Director, Oando, Omamofe Boyo, decried the prosecution’s mention of the company’s name in relation to the ongoing case, describing the linking of the company to the jailed former governor as undue sensationalism and reckless.

    He said the prosecution was being unfair to Oando as it has relevant authentic information that the prosecution had independently gathered showing that Ibori might have lied when he made claim of substantial shareholding in Oando.

    According to him, Oando was well aware that the London Metropolitan Police came to Nigeria to investigate the claim of Ibori’s shareholdings in Oando and other claims and only discovered that Ibori had less than 400 shares in Oando then.

    He said as a publicly listed company, the share register and shares transactions on the company are public documents that can be verified wondering why the prosecution was bent on misleading the court.

    He noted that as a public company whose shares are freely traded on the floors of the exchanges in Lagos and Johannesburg, Oando cannot determine who should or not buy its shares.

    He regretted the sensationalism around the way the case is being run, noting that such recklessness has had effect on an innocent third party, which is Oando Plc.

    He insisted that Ibori does not own 30 per cent of Oando or Ocean & Oil or any affiliated companies.

    Boyo said the prosecution lawyers had all the evidence of the true situation, describing what had happened since Monday when the trial started in London as “very bizarre.”

    He stressed that the company had checked its share registers in South Africa and Nigeria and Ibori only has 443 shares out of the more than 300,000 shareholders of the company.

    “We know all of those shareholders that have stake from 0.5 per cent, because there are few shareholders holding one per cent and above,” Boyo said.

     

  • Ribadu to Okiro: I did not aspire to be IGP

    Ribadu to Okiro: I did not aspire to be IGP

    A former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, on Wednesday said he did not at anytime aspire to be the Inspector-General of Police while in office.

    He faulted an allegation by a former Inspector-General of Police, Sir Mike Okiro, that he was desperate to use his position as EFCC chairman to be the nation’s police chief.

    Ribadu, who made the clarification in a statement through his spokesman, Mallam Adularia Abdulaziz, insisted that ex-Governor James Ibori was instrumental to Okiro’s appointment as IGP.

    He said an influential former governor from North-Central and a couple of other people helped to facilitate Okiro’s selection by Ibori as IGP.

    The statement said, “Our attention has been drawn to the shameless lies a former Inspector General of Police, Mr. Mike Okiro recklessly spewed to the media yesterday. The cause of Mr. Okiro’s anger, the statement, in a London court, by Mallam Nuhu Ribadu that James Ibori was instrumental to his emergence as the Inspector General of Police (IGP) needs no further equivocation as it was an open secret to everybody in the government circle then.

    “If Okiro is now denying this in public, there is no way he can deny this open secret to a number of people including an influential governor from the North-Central then, and a couple of other people who helped facilitate his selection by Ibori.

    “It was this same shameless method of desperate lobbying that Okiro, a chronic political jobber and sycophant of the first order would use in getting subsequent appointments as Chief Security Officer to the PDP national chairman and later, regrettably, as the chairman of the Police Service Commission.

    “The assertion by Okiro that Ribadu wanted to be the IGP further underlines the former IGP as a perennial peddler of falsehood.

    “The truth is Nuhu Ribadu’s focus then was consolidating on his modest efforts at the EFCC, especially at a time when he was working on high-profile cases, including that of Okiro’s godfather, James Ibori.

    “We therefore challenge Okiro to name those people he called Ribadu’s friends that narrated the fictitious story of Ribadu’s interest in becoming the IGP to him.”

    Contrary to Okiro’s claim, Ribadu said he has evidence to show that an assassination attempt was made on his life.

    He added: “The highest distortion in Okiro’s statement, however, is his attempt to rewrite the well-known and widely documented assassination attempts on the former EFCC chairman, and Okiro’s hands in it all.

    “It is ridiculous that Okiro is now desperately trying to paint himself in another colour after all the scheming he orchestrated. It beats our imagination that Okiro would want a Nuhu Ribadu he was fighting to destroy to report those incidences to him. It would have been a case of having a culprit to be a judge in his own case.

    “At the time, the trio of Michael Aondoakaa, the former Attorney General of the Federation, Okiro and Mrs. Farida Waziri, the former EFCC chairman, had created a hell out of the world for Ribadu. The only sensible thing to do was to avoid these characters and seek solace somewhere else. This notwithstanding, it is a blatant lie that Okiro telephoned Ribadu ‘several times’ but that he did not answer his calls.”

     

  • $15m bribe money: Ibori, Ribadu trade tackles in London court

    $15m bribe money: Ibori, Ribadu trade tackles in London court

    A twist occurred yesterday in the disputed sum of $15 million (about N4.6 billion) which former Delta State governor, Chief James Ibori allegedly offered as bribe to former chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Nuhu Ribadu.

    Speaking through his counsel, Ivan Krolick, in a British court yesterday, Ibori said the allegation that he offered $15 million dollars bribe money to Ribadu to get clearance certificate for corruption was a fabrication and a set-up.

    Ibori’s lawyer, after almost three hours of cross examining Nuhu Ribadu in court 14, Southwark Crown Court, told the court that Ibori never offered the bribe money and was never present in Andy Ubah’s house where the money was handed over in Abuja to Ribadu and EFCC operatives.

    According to Krolick, no money was given. Everything is fabricated. The money here is government money used to set Ibori up, and it was returned to CBN, government bank.

    In the second day of court proceedings, Ribadu took the stand as witness to be cross examined by Ibori’s lawyer. In a tortuous questioning process, Ibori’ s counsel sought to exonerate Ibori from the allegation of offering 15 million US dollars bribe money to EFCC.

    He sought to punch holes in Ribadu’s testimony and create doubts about the investigations surrounding Ibori’s corruption.

    He however met his match in Ribadu, who insisted that bribe money was offered and the EFCC performed above board. He provided graphic details of the cat and mouse game between the agency and Ibori and how the bribe money collection was staged. The state prosecutor later stood up to ask the court to request Ibori’s counsel to tell the open court what his point was in asking repeated questions about the bribe money and the place and time of its collection. Ivan Krolick said the whole thing was a set up against his client.

    Ribadu revealed that Ibori was very persistent in asking for the termination of the case against him and demanding for a clearance certificate.

    Ribadu said he was making the sacrifice to go back to London to undergo hours of testimony because he wanted the money stolen by Ibori to be returned to Nigeria, especially to the people of Delta State who were robbed.

    Meanwhile, the much awaited judgment in the case over who should take custody of the disputed $15 million (N4.6 billion) former Delta State governor, James Ibori’s alleged bribe money was aborted yesterday owing to the absence of Justice Gabriel Kolawole of the Federal High Court, Abuja.

    The dispute over who should keep the money is between the Federal Government and the Delta State Government. The money was allegedly offered as bribe to former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) by former Delta State Governor, James Ibori, to avert his investigation by the EFCC.

    Justice Kolawole had at the last date adjourned to yesterday for judgment. But when the parties got to court yesterday, they were told that the judge was not available and that the judgment was not ready. No new date has been fixed.

    On July 10 this year, when the parties adopted their final written addresses, the FG advised the court against handing to Delta State the disputed money, which it said that Delta State had denied was stolen from its treasury by Ibori to bribe officials of the EFCC.

    The Federal Government reminded the court that Delta State had in 2007 sued it and the EFCC and denied losing any money when it first became public that Ibori had taken such huge amount from the state’s treasury to bribe Ribadu.

    It urged the court to order that the money be forfeited to the Federal Government because Delta State has failed to prove beyond doubt that the money came from its treasury.

    The Federal Government had last year applied to the court for an order of forfeiture and to direct the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), where Ribadu had lodged the bribe money he refused, to release it to the government should no one show up to claim it.

    On hearing about the FG’s application, the Delta State Government later intervened,, claiming ownership of the money.

    It is Delta State’s contention that Ibori, being its governor when the bribe money was offered, must have taken the money from the state’s coffers.

    While adopting the FG’s address, Rotimi Jacobs (SAN) argued that the law empowers the court to order the forfeiture of such abandoned money to the Federal Government with or without the conviction of anybody.

    He contended that it was too late for Delta to change its earlier position, having earlier sued the FG and EFCC and stated in an affidavit that no money was lost or removed from any of its accounts under James Ibori.

    He noted that the state had equally claimed then that Ibori was just being harassed and intimidated by the EFCC.

    “That deposition in 2007 that no money was lost in the account of Delta and the fact that Delta has not filed any case of stealing against Ibori, was a clear indication that the money did not belong to the state,” he argued.

    Jacobs, who drew the court’s attention to the N100 million paid twice to Ibori in 2008 and 2010 by Delta State, stated that in view of his influence in the state, the $15 million would equally be handed to Ibori should the court release it to the state.

    He argued that the affidavit deposed to by some EFCC officials, linking the money to Ibori and on which Delta had relied in its claim, was just a mere deposition that could not help the case of Delta State.

    “Up till this moment, Delta has not placed before this court, an account of the state where Ibori withdrew or removed the money to prove its claim of ownership to the money,” he said.

    Jacobs prayed the court to order that the money be paid into the Consolidated Revenue Account of the country for the benefit of all Nigerians and to dismiss Delta’s case for being baseless.

    Arguing his state’s case earlier, Delta’s Attorney General, Charles Ajuyah (SAN) prayed the court to hand the money to Delta.

    He relied on the affidavits sworn to by some top officials of EFCC to the effect that the money was offered the agency by Ibori while he was the governor of the state.

    Citing one of such affidavits deposed to by Ibrahim Lamode (now EFCC chairman), Ajuyah contended that the affidavit evidence has proved beyond doubt that the money belonged to Delta.

    He drew the court’s attention to a statement by former aide on Domestic Affairs to ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo, Andy Uba (now a Senator) where he (Ubah) claimed that his residence in Asokoro was used by Ibori to channel the money to EFCC, who later took the money to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for safekeeping.

    Ajuyah said that so far, no individual, group or organisation has laid claim to the money besides Delta State. He added that all documents in possession of EFCC and in the court indicated that the money came through Ibori.

    He said that Delta State could not come out to claim the money since 2007 because of the various cases against Ibori and the fact that the money could be used as evidence in court.

    “Delta State came out at the appropriate time to claim the money because the cases against Ibori had been effectively completed.

    He added that the decision by his state to come forward for the money now was informed by the request, in July last year, by the Federal Government and EFCC (through newspaper publications) that anyone interested in the money should come forward.

  • Oando condemns use of untested evidence in Ibori’s case

    Oando condemns use of untested evidence in Ibori’s case

    Jailed former Delta State Governor James Ibori has cleared the air over his shares in Oando Plc. He says his shares in the oil giant are 443 units only.

    Ibori, according to a close aide, said the British prosecutor was misleading the public on his shares in Oando. The Crown prosecutor claimed Ibori had 30 per cent shares in Oando, citing a statement by a foreign bank as evidence.

    At yesterday’s resumed hearing of the matter at Court 14, Southwark Crown, no mention was made of the Oando shares throughout the almost two hours Ibori’s lawyer was cross-examined.

    The company, in a statement, has denied culpability, saying it should not be held responsible for any misrepresentation by any shareholder or contradictory statements made to other people.

    The company said Ibori has only 443 of its shares.

    Oando’s counsel, DLA Piper, UK LLP, has written the Director of Public Prosecution of the Crown Court, London, demanding the immediate withdrawal of the allegations.

    Oando, in a statement yesterday, flayed the use of untested evidence.

    The statement reads: “At Southwark Crown Court in London, proceedings are underway against Mr James Ibori (known as ‘confiscation proceedings’), ex-Governor of Delta State in Nigeria, aimed at making Mr. Ibori forfeit assets worth approximately £90million to the Crown.

    “These proceedings started on Monday 16 September, since when Oando PLC has been mentioned several times by the prosecutor.

    “Mr. Ibori was convicted in 2012 of Fraud and Money Laundering. At his trial, he pleaded guilty to the charges and was convicted on that basis. Due to his guilty plea, none of the allegations put forward in the prosecution’s case were ever tested.

    “Now, we have a situation where the Crown Prosecutor is using untested evidence as the basis of its case in the confiscation proceedings.The Prosecutor is presenting this evidence as factual and true, including, unbelievably, statements made by Mr. Ibori – a convicted criminal – to the effect that either he, or his family owns 30 per cent in Oando or in another statement “beneficial interest in Ocean & Oil”.

    “These contradictory statements were not tested in the first Court case and nor can they be tested in the confiscation proceedings, as the defendant has elected not to participate. This is a dilemma for Oando as it is not a party to the proceedings – it is not the accused, the defendant or a witness. As Oando does not have a right to be heard it cannot challenge the prosecution’s evidence where it touches upon Oando, for example by asking the following: Exactly which company does Ibori say he owned 30 per cent of? Why are you making sensational statements about a supposed shareholding when in your own evidence you say Mr Ibori’s statements are untrue? Why do you allege he owns 30 per cent of the company while also admitting that he only has about 400 shares in Oando PLC? How do you account for the disparity between the company’s own share register and the statements you are making in Court?

    “Of its own volition, Oando approached the Metropolitan Police sometime in 2012 when it became apparent that the Company’s name had been mentioned in the Crown prosecution case in relation to an alleged Ibori shareholding and transfer of money.

    “Oando made available to the Metropolitan Police evidence of Mr. Ibori’s shareholding of the Company at the time, which was approximately 400 shares. We also presented evidence that the transfers of money to Ocean and Oil Services Ltd to an Ibori controlled company was as a result of a legitimate foreign exchange transactions and without any knowledge at the time that the Company was related to Ibori.

    “Furthermore, there was no evidence of any transfer from Oando PLC to the Ibori controlled company. Oando as a responsible corporate with obligation to its shareholders will pursue all legal avenues available to right this wrong and seek compensation for any losses it incurs as a consequence of this inappropriate course of action.

    “The UK prosecutor is making damaging statements about a very substantial oversees company without any reasonable evidence while our company cannot defend itself in return. This insidious grandstanding cannot continue. It is leading to unfounded speculation that we are determined to bring to an end. At this time, we have our Counsel in court, to intervene as “a friend of the Court” if any damaging statements are made in relation to Oando.”

    Former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Mallam Nuhu Ribadu testified against the former governor yesterday.

    Ribadu said Ibori offered him a bribe of $15 million to obtain a clean bill of health from the commission.

    He said the bribe was given to him in the Abuja home of the Special Adviser on Domestic Matters to former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Dr. Andy Uba.

    He said the cash was handed over to him in the presence of EFCC Chairman Ibrahim Lamorde and another EFCC top shot, James Garba.

    He said: “ Ibori wanted to bribe me personally in order to get an EFFC clearance letter freeing him from corruption. The $15 million bribe he offered was sent straight to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) as exhibit and the CBN issued us a receipt. Ibori wanted a clearance and each time he saw me, he demanded that I give him a clearance letter. When a new president emerged and new political appointments were made, there was a lot of interference in our work. They wanted the Ibori case stopped. The Attorney-General, Mike Aondoaka, one day after being sworn in, wanted to take over the prosecutorial powers of the EFCC. Luckily, there is a Supreme Court ruling giving EFCC prosecutorial powers. But, not long afterwards, I was removed. Five days after charging Ibori to court in an Abuja High Court, I was asked to vacate my position as EFCC chairman. I was sent to the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS). James had told me I would be removed as EFCC chairman. He told me I would be charged to court and also that I would be dismissed from the Police force.”

    Ribadu told the court that all the threats Ibori made were fulfilled. He was removed as EFCC chair, charged to court for declaration of non-asset and dismissed from the police.

  • Ibori still lives lavish lifestyle, says UK prosecutor

    Ibori still lives lavish lifestyle, says UK prosecutor

    Jailed former Delta State Governor James Ibori still lives a lavish lifestyle, a prosecutor told a British court yesterday.

    Prosecutor Sasha Wass told Southwark Crown Court said despite Ibori’s assets being restrained in 2008, he continued to live a lavish lifestyle, travel and pay fees to the English boarding school where his three children are being educated.

    She quoted Ibori as telling a Swiss private bank in 2004 that he owned 30 per cent of oil firm Oando , which paid $1.2 million into his account that year.

    The court also heard that PKB Privatbank had in an internal document likened Ibori, who governed oil-producing Delta State from 1999 to 2007 to a scion of the Kennedy dynasty in the United States.

    Ibori was jailed for 13 years in Britain after pleading guilty in February last year to 10 counts of fraud and money-laundering worth 50 million pounds ($79.5 million). Prosecutors say his total wealth was likely to be far greater than that.

    Details of Ibori’s assets and how he kept them hidden from the public gaze through a web of shell companies and foreign bank accounts are being disclosed as part of a three-week confiscation hearing which began in London on Monday.

    One of the biggest embezzlement cases seen in Britain, Ibori’s is also a rare example of a senior Nigerian politician being held to account for the corruption that has held back Africa’s most populous nation and top oil producer.

    Wass told the Court that in 2004, Ibori opened an account at Lugano-based PKB in the name of a shell company called Stanhope Investments.

    Quoting from internal PKB documents, Wass told the court that Ibori presented himself to the bank as the owner of an insurance company, half of a bank and 30 per cent of Oando.

    She said a total of $1.2 million flowed into the PKB account from Oando in three payments that year which had later been channelled to other accounts and were part of funds intended for the purchase of a $20 million private jet.

    Shares in Oando, Nigeria’s biggest home-grown oil company, fell by 10 per cent in Lagos yesterday following the first allegation by Wass on Monday that Ibori had hidden assets in the firm.

    Oando said on Monday that Ibori had only an “insignificant” holding in the firm and also said it had sold $2.7 million of its foreign exchange earnings for naira in 2004 to a company that later turned out to be controlled by Ibori, but it did not know that at the time.

    Combined with Ibori’s track record of hiding his assets, this led to the “irresistible inference” that Ibori had further hidden assets which investigators had not yet uncovered, she said, adding that one option of where these might be was Oando.

    Wass also quoted from an internal PKB report from 2004 which said Ibori came from one of a few Nigerian families which had for decades developed the oil industry in that country.

    “We could compare these families with the Kennedy dynasty which also mixed business and politics,” the bank document said.

    Another excerpt said Ibori was “an extremely rich man as he was doing a lot of business before becoming governor”.

    PKB, which is fully owned by the Luxembourg-listed Compagnie de l’Occident pour la Finance et l’Industrie did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

    In the early 1990s, Ibori worked as a cashier at Wickes, a home improvement chainstore in London. He was convicted of theft in 1991 after being caught taking money from the till. A property he and his wife bought in a London suburb was repossessed as the couple could not meet mortgage payments.

    During his time as governor, however, he amassed a property portfolio worth at least $6.9 million as well as a fleet of luxury cars, including a Bentley and a Maybach 62.

  • How Ibori hid cash, by UK prosecutor

    How Ibori hid cash, by UK prosecutor

    Former Delta State Governor James Ibori hid some of his assets in the oil firm Oando and money passed from the company’s accounts to Ibori’s Swiss accounts, a British prosecutor told a court yesterday.

    Ibori, who governed Delta State from 1999 to 2007 and influenced national politics, was jailed for 13 years in Britain after pleading guilty in February 2012 to 10 counts of fraud and money-laundering worth 50 million pounds ($79 million).

    One of the biggest embezzlement cases seen in Britain, the successful prosecution of Ibori was also a rare example of a senior Nigerian politician being held to account for the corruption that blights Africa’s most populous country.

    A three-week confiscation hearing began at London’s Southwark Crown Court on Monday during which prosecutors will present evidence of Ibori’s assets and seek court orders to have them seized. Defence lawyers will dispute the prosecution case.

    Prosecutor Sasha Wass told the court she would be presenting evidence that Ibori had “asserted ownership of a large part” of Oando, Nigeria’s biggest home-grown oil firm which is listed in Lagos, Johannesburg and Toronto.

    “The Crown will assert that Oando is a company where James Ibori has hidden assets,” Wass said, giving no further details. She is expected to elaborate later in the proceedings.

    Oando is not a party to the case, although British lawyer Andrew Baillie was in court representing the firm’s interests.

    A spokesman for Oando in Lagos said that in 2004, the company had sold $2.7 million of its foreign exchange earnings for naira in three transactions over about seven months with a company that had turned out to be controlled by Ibori. Oando did not know at the time that Ibori was behind the company, he said.

    The spokesman also said that at present, Ibori had an “insignificant” shareholding in Oando.

    $15 MILLION IN CASH

    At the time of Ibori’s sentencing in April 2012, Judge Anthony Pitts said the 50 million pounds that he had admitted to stealing may be a “ludicrously low” fraction of his total booty, which could be more than 200 million pounds.

    The confiscation hearing will shed further light on the scale of Ibori’s wealth and determine whether he emerges from jail impoverished or still in possession of a large enough fortune to regain a position of influence in Nigeria.

    Wass said Nuhu Ribadu, a former head of Nigeria’s anti-graft agency EFCC, would testify later in the hearing. He alleges that in 2007, Ibori tried to stop EFCC investigations into his affairs by offering Ribadu a bribe of $15 million in cash.

    Ibori, who is at Long Lartin maximum security prison in central England, could be released as early as 2016 because he spent two years in custody before his sentencing and because he will be eligible for parole halfway through his prison term.

    He was not in court on Monday and his lawyer Ivan Krolick said Ibori did not wish to attend the confiscation hearing although he would come to court to give evidence if necessary.

    In May, the Court of Appeal had rejected Ibori’s appeal against the length of his sentence.

    During his sentencing hearing, the court heard Ibori had acquired six foreign properties worth 6.9 million pounds, a fleet of luxury cars including a Bentley and a Maybach 62, and that he had tried to buy a $20-million private jet. His three daughters were attending a private school in rural England.

    British authorities hope Ibori’s case may stop corrupt Nigerian politicians looking to Britain, Nigeria’s former colonial ruler, as a place to spend money on houses, luxury goods or private education for their children.

     

  • I never knew Ibori, says ex-EFCC chair Waziri

    I never knew Ibori, says ex-EFCC chair Waziri

    A former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mrs. Farida Waziri, has said that ex-Governor James Ibori was not behind her appointment.

    She said she never knew Ibori before she was made the EFCC chair.

    Her position contradicted the claim by ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo that Mrs. Waziri was head-hunted for the job by Ibori.

    Mrs. Waziri, who spoke in an interview with EFCC Magazine, “Zero Tolerance”, to mark the 10-year anniversary of the agency, said some groups deliberately fought her and churned out false documents.

    She said: “I never knew him; I never knew James Ibori. When I was appointed, I went to the Villa very often because the President called his staff and told them Farida has free access to him 24/7 whether in the office or Villa.

    “So, I went there very often and I met Ibori; he was always there.”

    On the allegation that she aided Ibori’s escape to Dubai through a tip-off, she said: “It’s all lies of the enemies.”

    “By the time I write my book, the truth will prevail. I never knew Ibori; look, I believe what is worth doing at all is worth doing well. I don’t believe in half measures.

    “By my training and upbringing, I can never betray my country for anyone, for any reason; I never had to go to National Security Adviser with the police to assist, that was when the police was attacked.

    “If I was in league with him, wouldn’t I have said ‘lie low, don’t worry’, that we will just do that and pretend. Let me ask you, if I was in league with Ibori and was not sincerely pursuing him, would he have gone out of this country to Dubai?

    “Of course, I was all out and that was how he ran out and went and got himself in more trouble.”

    Mrs. Waziri also explained that contrary to insinuations, a former Attorney-General of the Federation, Mr. Mike Aondoakaa (SAN), did not know about her appointment.

    She said Aondoakaa was shocked that the late President Umaru Yar’Adua picked her outside the list submitted to him.

    She added: “I think what happened was that my younger brother, Aondoakaa, the former AGF, was close to Ibori. This former AGF is from my area, my local government, but I never knew him. Well, he might have known me because young people know the elderly.

    “When I was in Turkey with my husband, one of my relations called and said, ‘you know your brother is now the AG’. I said ‘really’. People probably linked me to him and thought he brought me.

    “Believe you me; he was against my becoming the EFCC chairman. When the President picked my CV, that was when he came to my house for the first time and said the President had shocked them.

    “What happened? He said ‘he picked your CV, now are you going to do the job. Because the press will come after you, why don’t you answer now so that I can go back?’

    “I asked him, ‘is it the president that sent you?’ He said ‘yes’. I said ‘I will think about it’. He said ‘no, no, no, I should tell him now.’ I called my husband and told him this is what the AG has said and he said ‘well, you cannot refuse to serve your father land in any capacity, so convey to them the message.”

    On her sack as EFCC chairman, faulted the approach adopted by President Goodluck Jonathan.

    She said: “The manner of the sack was what bothered me. I have done a span of 35 years, fighting for my father land. I deserve some little dignity and respect.

    “When you wake up and you see on AIT, Waziri sacked! ‘NTA, Waziri sacked!’ Channels, ‘Waziri sacked!’ That is the style I am talking about.

    “My predecessor’s case was even worse, but I do hope that the authorities will take note. Except you are removed as a result of gross misconduct, any other way, you should be treated with dignity, respect for human person.

    “So, it’s the style I frowned at, not about leaving; I knew I would one day leave. In fact, the hand writing was on the wall. I knew it was a matter of time.”

  • Ibori’s UK lawyer questioned over alleged police bribery

    Ibori’s UK lawyer questioned over alleged police bribery

    •Alleged to have hired private eyes to buy information from London Police

    One of the counsels to Chief James Ibori, the jailed former governor of Delta State, has been arrested in London for allegedly attempting to pervert the course of justice in the money-laundering case that got the politician sent to prison.

    Ian Timlin, a former litigation partner at City Law Firm Speechly Bircham, was held by Met anti-corruption detectives investigating the alleged bribery of police officers. The senior lawyer was arrested at his home in Kent on suspicion of conspiracy to corrupt a police officer, perverting the course of justice and money-laundering offences concerning Ibori.

    The former governor was jailed last year for embezzlement after admitting stealing almost £50m, although the true amount may have been many times greater.

    The Independent of London reported that during a long-running Scotland Yard investigation into his business affairs, Mr Ibori hired the law firm, Speechly Bircham, which specialises in tax advice for non-domiciled people living in the UK. Mr Timlin, who until 2010 was a partner at Speechly Bircham, then hired RISC Management, a controversial private detective agency embroiled in the scandal that erupted after the murder of the former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko.

    Leaked documents, according to the newspaper, suggest RISC, run by former Met Police officers, gained inside information into the ongoing investigation of Ibori and that the agency paid serving detectives £20,000 for intelligence that helped the convict’s defence lawyers. One £5,000 payment was allegedly made to a source for information relating to “forthcoming interviewing strategy to be deployed by police”.

    Mr Timlin was arrested in April and it is understood police have retrieved internal documents from the law firm. Keith Hunter, the boss of RISC Management, has also been arrested as part of the investigation, which was triggered in May 2012 when newspapers revealed the Met had done nothing since a whistleblower passed police leaked documents revealing the alleged payments to officers many months before.

    Like all current investigations into damaging allegations of police corruption, the long-running inquiry has inched its way tortuously forward, which prevents the media from reporting the full details. Both Mr Hunter and Mr Timlin deny the allegations and are on bail.

    Mr Timlin qualified as a solicitor in 1991 and was a partner for 15 years in a number of London law firms before he left Speechly Bircham in 2010. He is now legal director of the Long Port Group, a property development company in the tax haven of Guernsey, and has been involved in the construction of a sports resort in Brazil.

    RISC, which is also used by law firm Mischon de Reya, has links to Russian oligarchs in London. It was first established as ISC Global in October 2000 by a lawyer called Stephen Curtis. He died in a helicopter accident in 2004, a crash that his family claimed was highly suspicious.

    In 2006, it emerged the former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko visited RISC’s central London offices shortly before he died of polonium poisoning, and traces of the radioactive substance were found at the premises.

    A spokesperson for Speechly Bircham said: “Given an arrest was made some months ago and there has since been no charge, it would be inappropriate for us to comment. Suffice to say that we have assisted the police with their enquiries.”

    Mr Hunter said: “RISC management does not need to pay serving police officers for confidential information as we pride ourselves on our ability to provide positive solutions and accurate information legitimately.” Mr Timlin and the Long Port Group did not respond to requests for comment.

    At Ibori’s sentencing, prosecutor Sasha Wass said: “From the moment he was elected he set about enriching himself at the expense of some of the poorest people in the world.” She told the court he was “effectively a thief in government house.”

  • Take Ibori hugs limelight again

    Take Ibori hugs limelight again

    After a long hiatus from the social radar, Take, the fun-loving daughter of former Delta State Governor, Chief James Onanefe Ibori, has finally returned to the social space. At the moment, things are really looking good for her.

    Her outlook at a recent function belied all that had been said about her since her sudden disappearance from the social scene. She was not only full of life, she was also generous with courtesies, dishing out pleasantries freely.

    Prior to her appearance at the event, her whereabouts had been a subject of speculations, following the collapse of her planned marriage to Abisoye Suenu.

  • Ibori’s alleged $15m bribe: Court to hear Delta’s suit July 10

    A Federal High Court in Abuja will on July 10 hear the application by Delta State Government, seeking to claim the $15million bribe allegedly offered former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Nuhu Ribadu, by jailed ex-Governor James Ibori.

    The bribe was allegedly meant by Ibori to stop the EFCC from further investigating him for his alleged massive looting of his state while in office.

    Justice Gabriel Kolawole fixed the date yesterday, following a recent ruling by the Court of Appeal, Abuja, striking out an application by a Lagos refrigerator repairer, Olalekan Bayode, seeking to halt further hearing in a suit pending the hearing of his appeal.

    When the case was called yesterday, parties were set to argue the state’s application, but the court said it was inconvenient in view of its tight schedule and directed them to choose a fresh date.

    The Federal Government had applied for an order of forfeiture and to direct the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), where Ribadu had lodged the bribe money to release it to the government should no one show up to claim the money.

    The Delta State Government later claimed ownership of the money. It is part of its contention that Ibori, being its governor when the bribe money was offered, must have taken the money from its coffers.

    Before the state’s application could be heard, Bayode applied that he be appointed as a manager to disburse the $15 million to indigents, especially widows and orphans, through a charity organisation.

    He applied to be joined in the case and prayed that the money be released to him.

    Justice Kolawole dismissed Bayode’s application for being frivolous and lacking in merit.

    The judge held, among others that Bayode failed to show sufficient grounds and interest upon which the money in dispute should be released to him.

    Justice Kolawole held that Bayode only claimed to be a Nigerian and refrigerator repairer based at Alagbado in Lagos.

    The judge further held that the Federal Government, which instituted the case, did not ask for a manager for the fund, but applied that those with interest in the money should indicate before an order of forfeiture is made in its favour.

    Justice Kolawole described Bayode as a busy body, meddlesome interloper and one, who was out to mock the judiciary and the issue at stake.