For those who say Nigeria is a country where wonders shall never end, a new example was the wild jubilation and celebrations in Delta State following the release of disgraced former governor James Ibori from jail in London, where he was serving a 13-year sentence, after pleading guilty to money laundering, and corruption charges. In spite of Ibori’s guilty plea and conviction, his kinsmen at Oghara and other Urhobo communities in Delta, however, turned the affair to a carnival as they lined up major streets dancing. This is an unbelievable shame that is condemnable, unfortunate and unacceptable, even if they seem expedient, as it mocks Nigeria and all her pretences to fighting corruption. If and when Ibori returns to Nigeria, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) must appeal the controversial 2009 acquittal of Ibori by an Asaba court, and file new charges using evidence from the guilty plea he entered in London. Anything short of a re-trial of Ibori will be unacceptable and unpatriotic.
As is normal under British procedures, Ibori was released after serving half his sentence, taking into account pre-trial detention. But it was not clear whether he will immediately return to Nigeria because legal proceedings over the confiscation of his assets worth tens of millions of dollars were unresolved. They were supposed to have been resolved years ago, but have grounded due to allegations of police corruption and the prospect of Ibori taking his case to the Court of Appeal. Since his release, friends, family members and political associates have been paying him visits in his London home, where he is under house arrest pending the conclusion of his asset confiscation case. A video of one such visit which has been trending on social media shows a Senator from Delta state, Peter Nwaoboshi, boasting about how Ibori “installed” governors and lawmakers from prison.
The video immediately drew public criticisms with many calling for Ibori’s extradition and further prosecution in Nigeria. Former Delta Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan joined his voice to the babel of criticism saying those people going to London to see Ibori, and posting pictures are creating more problems for Ibori. “We appreciate your love for him but you can go quietly without the unnecessary publicity. You are creating more problems for him than you can ever imagine. Nigeria is a complex country and you must understand and respect people’s sensibilities,” Uduaghan posted on Facebook.
Ibori as governor of oil-producing Delta from 1999 to 2007 became one of Nigeria’s richest and most powerful men. While in office, Ibori acquired luxury properties in Britain, the United States, South Africa and Nigeria. He is the most senior Nigerian politician to have been held accountable for the corruption that has blighted Nigeria. His jailing in Britain, where he had laundered millions and sent his children to expensive private schools, was a high point in the international fight against graft. The celebration of his release from jail is as bizarre as the reasons proffered by his supporters. By this act of callous stupidity, Nigeria has been plunged to irredeemable depths of moral degeneracy to a state of despoliation and anomie, where corruption, impunity and absurdity reign supreme. The unspoken message is that instead of shaming thieves, Nigeria celebrates them.
No word can be too strong to condemn the people of Delta State especially the political elite, including Governor Okowa who reportedly sanctioned the celebrations, for the odium they have brought on the State and the country by defaming public morality and celebrating graft at its most obscene level. This is a disgrace. It is, however, more than embarrassing that Gov. Okowa has not publicly condemned the celebrations. It is disgraceful as it is unconscionable, it is irresponsible as it is heinous, and the governor has obviously, with his ungainly comportment, sent a wrong signal especially to the youths that it pays to be corrupt. It must be said that, on moral grounds alone, Nigeria cannot afford malevolent persons in high public office. Therefore, Okowa and his ilk should have no place managing the affairs of Delta state.
It is unfortunate that Nigerians are celebrating criminals and those who contributed to parlous state of the nation. Before Ibori, the nation was taken on a contemptuous merry-go-round with the release of Bode George and Hamza Al-Mustapha. If these two cases were not scandalous enough, then add the dropping of the charges against Mohammed Abacha, son of the late head of state, Sani Abacha. One cannot help but feel really ashamed as a Nigerian.
Gov. Okowa aka “Delta State is broke” should be fighting to get Ibori extradited to Nigeria to face trial; in the hope of recovering the $15 million Ibori gave to ex-EFCC chairman, Nuhu Ribadu, as bribe. Ribadu deposited the money at the CBN, which was forfeited to the federal government ostensibly because Delta State could not prove that Ibori stole the money from its coffers. Justice Gabriel Kolawole of the Federal High Court, Abuja ruled that in light of Ibori’s denial that he gave $15 million to anyone; the money becomes unclaimed property and is hereby forfeited to the government. Okowa has his work cut out because it is a well-established fact that Ibori was arrested and prosecuted for corruption in Nigerian courts. It is also a fact that Ibori confessed to corruption charges, including the $15 million bribe in the British court where he entered a guilty plea and was sentenced to jail.
It is also a matter of public record that Ibori has not retracted his guilty plea in London where Ribadu, recently testified in Ibori’s ongoing asset confiscation trial; telling the court that Ibori stole at least $500 million, representing 50% of revenue allocation that accrued to Delta state during his two terms in office. In his emotional testimony, Ribadu detailed how Ibori offered him the $15 million bribe in large sacks of cash at the Abuja home of Andy Uba; and told the UK court that he took possession of the cash, and then deposited it at the Central Bank of Nigeria, implying a prima facie case against Ibori, requiring that he defends himself in a Nigerian court.
Ibori’s confession which was corroborated by Ribadu’s testimony are the relevant statements of fact in his plea bargain; and consistent with other facts which have been ascertained. But for the English court, Ibori was invincible as he got away with every allegation made against him and was freed by the courts in Nigeria. Ironically, the offences of which he was acquitted by Nigerian courts were the same offences that earned him his conviction and imprisonment in London. Against this background, there is enough corroborative evidence about the money Ibori stole from Delta State. While the modalities to repatriate over 18 million pounds worth of assets from Britain are being worked out with the federal government, Okowa should do the right thing by re-opening the $15 million case. This money can at least pay off salary arears owed workers in the state.
The public indignation occasioned by this bizarre jubilation leaves Nigerians feeling outraged at the way the country has been turned to a haven of sorts for corrupt officials who no longer worry about their arraignment in court. It is also a pity that well-meaning Nigerians are merely watching in bewilderment as this Ibori circus plays out; forgetting that the price they pay for this is good governance. What times like this require are virile civil society organizations, a vocal populace and a Nigerian Bar Association that is bold enough to call for the extradition of Ibori; and for him to be court-martialed in Nigeria. Okowa cannot afford the conspiracy of silence, mute indifference and cold complicity as this suggests no more than a soft landing for the disgraced former governor. President Buhari must use Ibori to send a strong message to every corrupt leader that their days of reckoning are inevitable.
