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Tag: James Ibori

  • Ex-Delta Gov, James Ibori pays tribute to late Nigerian President, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua

    Ex-Delta Gov, James Ibori pays tribute to late Nigerian President, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua

    Former Governor of Delta State, James Ibori has extolled the virtues of the late Nigerian leader, former President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua who died in office 10 years ago.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports that the late former Nigerian leader died in office on May 5, 2010.

    Eulogizing the ex-Nigerian leader on his personal Twitter handle @JamesIbori6, the former governor said the late Yar’Adua was a true agent of change who constituted government of National Unity and tolerated opposition.

    TNG reports that the late Yar’Adua was the 13th president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. He was governor of Katsina State in from 29 May 1999 to 28 May 2007 before assuming office as president in 29 May, 2007.

  • No CoS anywhere exhibited complete loyalty, commitment to his principal like Abba Kyari – James Ibori

    No CoS anywhere exhibited complete loyalty, commitment to his principal like Abba Kyari – James Ibori

    Former Governor of Delta State, James Ibori on Saturday extolled the rare virtues of late Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari, Abba Kyari who died on Saturday from the novel coronavirus [COVID-19] disease.

    According to the former governor, no Chief of Staff anywhere has exhibited the kind of commitment and loyalty that the late Abba Kyari exhibited while working with President Buhari.

    Ibori said this in a special condolence letter to Kyari’s wife and children released on Saturday on his behalf by his Media Assistant, Tony Eluemunor.

    Relieving his relationship with the late CoS, Ibori said Kyari whom he knew back in Lagos demonstrated huge humane nature. He condoled his wife, Mrs. Kulu Abba Kyari to take solace in the fact that he (Kyari) lived a life of service to others and rose to a most enviable position in the country.

    Read full letter below:

    Dear Mrs. Kulu Abba Kyari,

    It is with great shock that I received the news, in the early hours of this morning, of the passing of your husband, my brother and friend, Alhaji Abba Kyari, the Chief of Staff to the President,

    Though I knew about his bout with Covid-19 infection, I had expected him to pull through because he was remarkably strong-willed, and the entire nation was praying for him. But on Friday 17th April, he went the way of all mortals.

    Those of us that knew your husband from his days in Lagos can testify to his humane nature. He was very unassuming, loyal and dependable to a fault and he remained totally God-fearing. This aspect of him has been on public display; no Chief of Staff anywhere has shown as much loyalty and commitment as he showed to President Mohammadu Buhari. History will be kind to him for he helped greatly in directing the affairs of the nation for the past five years.

    Though those who saw him only from a distance may not know it, he never believed in the acquisition of material things of this world. He was incorruptible and lived his life in the mould of the typical Mallam.

    Please find succour in the fact that Alhaji Abba Kyari lived a life of service to others and rose to a most enviable position in the country.

    Please, on behalf of the children, accept my condolences. As a devout Moslem, I know you will take solace in the fact that from Allah we all came and to Him we shall all return. Death is a price we all owe; Alhaji Abba Kyari has just paid his own. May Allah grant him eternal rest.

     

    Signed:

    Media Assistant to Chief James Onanefe Ibori, Delta state Governor, 1999 -2007.

  • PDP National Chairmanship: Dokpesi woos Igbinedion, Ibori, Ize-Iyamu

    PDP National Chairmanship: Dokpesi woos Igbinedion, Ibori, Ize-Iyamu

    Former Governor of Delta, Chief James Ibori, on Friday described Chief Raymond Dokpesi as a passionate loyalist of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), saying he had toiled for the party.

    Ibori said in Oghara when he received Dokpesi, a national chairmanship aspirant of the party, that the aspirant was enjoying huge confidence of party members because of his record and commitment.

    He pledged to give necessary support to the aspiration and prayed that God would guide him.

    Earlier, Dokpesi had told the former governor that his visit was to solicit support for his aspiration, saying that Ibori was a stakeholder in the PDP.

    In Benin, Edo, Dokpesi visited Chief Gabriel Igbinedion, who said that the aspirant was a dogged democrat and fighter for enthronement of internal democracy and equity in the party.

    Similarly, a chieftain of PDP in the state, Mr Ben Edo-Osagie, described Dokpesi as a “brave man with credibility”, adding that in spite of all intimidations, he remained in the party and “gave it his all”.

    “Credibility and total alliance is what is needed at this stage to rebuild the PDP. This party requires re-branding, re-packaging and re-focusing to win the 2019 general elections.

    “I believe that Dokpesi is the foremost dynamic person to lead the PDP to victory in 2019,” Edo-Osagie said.

    Also receiving the aspirant, PDP candidate in the 2017 governorship election in Edo, Mr Osagie Ize-Iyamu, said Dokpesi was a party leader that the state was always proud of.

    He said that the man had paid his dues in any area required to be PDP’s national chairman.

    Ize-Iyamu assured that as a son of Edo, the party members in the state would pull resources to support Dokpesi, adding that it was wrong for anybody to insinuate that he was or would be rejected in his home.

    He commended the aspirant for his matured and peaceful campaigns, adding that he had brought flamboyance to the race to the chairmanship race.

    He appealed to all the aspirants not to be hostile in their campaigns,”

    Dokpesi called for dedication of leaders and members to ensure stability in the party, saying that cohesion was needed for the party to regain power at the national level.

    He said that had been to the northern part of the country and the South-West for campaign, and said that the enthusiasm of members for strengthening of the party was impressive.

    Dokpesi urged the leaders to support his ambition, pledging that PDP’s credibility and acceptability by most Nigerians would be restored if he was elected.

    NAN

  • I’ll play politics till I die, James Ibori declares

    Former Delta State Governor, James Onanefe Ibori has declared his intention to stage a comeback on the Nigerian political scene.

    Ibori declared this on Tuesday in an interview with Reuters after his court hearing in London.

    Ibori who was governor of Delta State from 1999 to 2007 said his involvement in politics was for the good of his people, adding that he was ready to lay down his life.

    In Ibori’s words: “What happens in African politics – you are in it until you die.

    “I am a politician; I will always be a politician. I play the politics in my party and in my country for the good of my people.”

    TheNewsGuru.com recalls that Ibori was released from Her Majesty’s Huntercombe Prison near Nuffield in Oxfordshire, England in December 2016 after serving a 13 year jail term.

    The former governor had earlier disclosed that he would be returning to the country in a “matter of days.”

    Ibori’s media aide, Tony Eluemunor, made the disclosure in a statement on Tuesday.

    The statement which reads in part says, “After all the speculations over when Chief James Onanefe Ibori will return to Nigeria, Ibori himself has now confirmed that he would be homeward bound very soon.

    “As soon as possible, may be in a matter of days.

    “Dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s in briefing his lawyers may be the only thing standing between Ibori now and his journey to Nigeria.

    “For instance, there will be mention of the Ibori London case this week Friday at the Southwark London court for the judge to be fully informed on what is happening with the disclosure process and to ascertain if everybody convicted in the Ibori and related cases will be appealing.”

  • Ibori out of prison, spends Christmas in the UK, returns to Nigeria January

    Nigeria’s former governor James Onanefe Ibori who was released from prison in the United Kingdom (UK) about noon today after serving a 13 years prison sentence for corruption and money laundering is set to return to Nigeria in January.

    Justice Juliet May gave the edict that the matter for the deportation of the Delta state former governor from the UK must be heard before the end of January while ordering Ibori’s immediate release from prison.

    However, the UK’s Home Office earlier rejected the release of James Ibori from prison, with representatives of Home Secretary, Amber Rudd, arguing that Ibori might “frustrate confiscation proceedings” and therefore Ibori should be kept in jail or subject to strict controls on his movement.

    Rudd is claiming Ibori hands over £18m (about 7 billion naira) of “proceeds of crime” to the UK government, but the High Court Judge has said the attempts to further detain Ibori were “quite extraordinary”.

    Ibori’s barrister, Ivan Krolic, explained that Ibori’s confiscation proceedings collapsed in 2013, after the prosecution was unable to establish any theft from Nigeria’s Delta state treasury, and any benefit for Ibori.

    “A three-week hearing which heard live evidence was abandoned by the prosecutors – Wass QC and Shutzer-Weissman.

    “Both prosecutors have since been dismissed from the case for gross misconduct,” Krolic said.

    Krolic further explained that British police officers in the case led by DC McDonald, have again been referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission and now face a tough investigation into their corrupt activities in the case.

    “The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has confirmed officers in the case were corrupt.

    “It has since disclosed substantial material evidencing the graft,” Krolic said.

    Meanwhile, the CPS had admitted in September that the review team ordered to review evidence following allegations that police took bribes and prosecutors covered it up, at the prompt of the Director of Public Prosecutions, Alison Saunders, found material to support the assertion that a police officer received payment in return for information.

    “You don’t hold someone just because it is convenient to do so and without plans to deport them,” Justice May declared.

    Ordering Ibori’s release, Justice May said: “The Secretary of State appears to have taken it upon herself that Ibori does remain in this country, in apparent contradiction of the order served earlier this year to deport him”.

    “The position of the Secretary of State, as very candidly set out by Mr Birdling (representing the Home Secretary), is that she accepts that there is an argument that she has no power to detain him.

    “I have decided that the balance of convenience falls heavily in favour of his immediate release.

    “I am not prepared to impose conditions involving tagging or curfews,” Justice May said, adding that “The matter of Ibori’s deportation should be heard before the end of January”.

    TheNewsGuru reporter in the UK has confirmed that Ibori has since been released from prison following the order, but he will remain and spend Christmas in the UK until the confiscation matter for his deportation from the UK is resolved.

    Ibori was released from Her Majesty’s Huntercombe Prison near Nuffield in Oxfordshire, England, where he spent his prison term, with his sister, Christine Ibori Ibie and a team of his lawyer on ground to pick him to the sister’s apartment in Wembley, an area of northwest London.

    “He is out of here”, a prison source confirmed.

    Here are exclusive photos of Ibori after his release.

  • BREAKING: Ibori steps out of prison

    James Onanefe Ibori, former governor of Delta State, has stepped out of prison in the United Kingdom (UK) where he served a 13 years jail term for corruption and money laundering.

    Ibori’s release followed a dramatic turn of events at a British High Court in London in which Home Secretary, Amber Rudd, was accused of acting unlawfully and misusing her powers, and in which some UK police officers were confirmed corrupt.

    A reporter of TheNewsGuru monitoring the turn of events of the enthralling Ibori case from the UK has exclusively informed that Ibori’s sister, Christine Ibori Ibie, has lead a pack of associates of the former governor to pick him at the prison, which is a few hours away from London, with Ibori expected to be in the city in a couple of hours or so.

    Also read: Efforts to keep Ibori in further detention by British govt fails

    Already, there is excitement and celebrations across Nigeria, especially at Ibori’s Oghara hometown, and in the UK, among his associates who have been on ground the UK to accord him grandstanding reception.

    Justice Juliet May of the British High Court ordered Ibori’s release few minutes past noon after rejecting Rudd’s request for conditions to be imposed on Ibori’s release. The visibly irritated Judge could not understand the Home Secretary’s position and at times was critical of the move to detain Ibori any further.

    Rudd was refusing Ibori’s release on the ground that Ibori hands over £18m of “proceeds of crime,” but the High Court Judge said the attempts to detain him were “quite extraordinary”.

    Justice May said: “You don’t hold someone just because it is convenient to do so and without plans to deport them”.

    Justice May also rejected an application from UK’s Home Office that Ibori be electronically tagged and subject to strict curfew conditions, accepting arguments that the Home Secretary was attempting to misuse her immigration and deportation powers.

    The Home Office’s said the government was concerned that Ibori might “frustrate confiscation proceedings” and wanted him kept in jail or subject to strict controls on his movement.

    Ibori’s barrister, Ivan Krolic, explained that Ibori’s confiscation proceedings collapsed in 2013, after the prosecution was unable to establish any theft from the Delta State treasury and any benefit for Ibori.

    “A three-week hearing which heard live evidence was abandoned by the prosecutors – Wass QC and Shutzer-Weissman. Both prosecutors have since been dismissed from the case for gross misconduct,” Krolic said.

    Krolic further explained that British police officers in the case led by DC McDonald, have again been referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission and now face a tough investigation into their corrupt activities in this case.

    “The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has confirmed officers in the case were corrupt. It has since disclosed substantial material evidencing the graft,” Krolic said.

    The conviction of James Ibori followed a government anti-corruption campaign led by the Department for International Development (DfID) 10 years ago.

    But earlier this year the Director of Public Prosecutions, Alison Saunders, demanded a review of the evidence following allegations that police took bribes and prosecutors covered it up.

    “The review team found material to support the assertion that a police officer received payment in return for information,” the CPS admitted in September.

    It emerged in court today that the CPS, which is pursuing the confiscation proceedings, was “neutral” about Ibori’s release and deportation.

    Ian MacDonald QC, representing Ibori, said: “The Secretary of State has taken it upon herself. There is no objection from (the CPS) for release”.

    “This is extraordinary,” Justice May said. “They (the CPS) don’t care.”

    “Why doesn’t the Secretary of State just send him back?” she asked. “He wants to go. She wants him to go”.

    Ordering Ibori’s release, Justice May said: “The Secretary of State appears to have taken it upon herself that Ibori does remain in this country, in apparent contradiction of the order served earlier this year to deport him”.

    “The position of the Secretary of State, as very candidly set out by Mr Birdling (representing the Home Secretary), is that she accepts that there is an argument that she has no power to detain him.

    “I have decided that the balance of convenience falls heavily in favour of his immediate release.

    “I am not prepared to impose conditions involving tagging or curfews,” Justice May declared.

    While Ibori has been released to be in the UK, the Judge, however, ordered that the matter of his deportation from the UK should be heard before the end of January.

     

    For synopsis on Ibori’s release, follow the links below:

    BREAKING: Bid to keep Ibori in further detention by British govt fails
    BREAKING: London court orders Ibori’s immediate release
    Nigerians invade London for Ibori

  • BREAKING: Efforts to keep Ibori in further detention by British govt fail

    ImageFile: Bid to keep Ibori in further detention by British govt fails1
    James Onanefe Ibori.

    Efforts by the British government to get a court order to continue to detain former Delta state government, James Ibori, who has served out a concurrent 13 years jail term, failed, propelling the presiding Judge to lambast the British Home Secretary, saying she is being unlawful and misusing her powers.

    According to TheNewsGuru reporter in the United Kingdom (UK) monitoring the trend of events, there was mild drama in the British High Court today as senior lawyers for the UK’s Home Office failed in their last-minute bid to prevent Ibori’s release.

    TheNewsGuru can reveal that the apparent decision to block Ibori’s release and detain him appears to have come from the highest echelons of the UK Government – the Home Secretary, Amber Rudd, who was accused in today’s hearing of acting unlawfully and misusing her powers.

    Relying on a subsisting confiscation case against Chief Ibori whose term in jail ended yesterday, the British government had wanted an order to either further detain him or compel him to remain in the United Kingdom until the confiscation hearing is completed.

    Sian Davies, the Crown Prosecution lawyer did not object to Ibori’s return to Nigeria, yet at the last minute the Home Office stepped in. There is clear discord between the two arms of the British Government.

    Ibori’s team was led by Ian McDonald QC, the leading QC on immigration.

    The visibly irritated Judge could not understand the Home Secretary’s position and at times was critical of the move to detain Ibori any further.

    Justice Juliet May rejected the Home Secretary’s requests for conditions to be imposed and ordered Ibori’s immediate release.

    Ivan Krolic, who also attended, explained that Ibori’s confiscation proceedings collapsed in 2013, after the prosecution was unable to establish any theft from the Delta State treasury and any benefit for Ibori. A three-week hearing which heard live evidence was abandoned by the prosecutors – Wass QC and Shutzer-Weissman. Both prosecutors have since been dismissed from the case for gross misconduct.

    Krollic further explained that British police officers in the case led by DC McDonald, have again been referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission and now face a tough investigation into their corrupt activities in this case. The CPS has confirmed officers in the case were corrupt. It has since disclosed substantial material evidencing the graft.

    Ibori and others have long maintained that this prosecution was politically motivated. It was funded by the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID), whose senior employee was also the jury foreperson in one of the earlier trials.

    The Ibori case has been plagued with British police corruption, exceptional prosecutorial misconduct and fundamental non-disclosure. A multitude of appeals have now been launched or are in the process of being launched.

  • BREAKING: London court orders Ibori’s immediate release

    A London court has ordered the immediate release of James Onanefe Ibori from prison before nightfall today.

    Ibori was convicted and jailed for corruption and money laundering by a Southwark Crown court on 17th April 2012 in the United Kingdom (UK), but there has been mild drama today in the British High Court as senior lawyers for the UK’s Home Office failed in their last-minute bid to prevent Ibori’s release.

    According to TheNewsGuru reporter monitoring the Ibori trend of events from the United Kingdom (UK), there was mild drama in the British High Court today as senior lawyers for the UK’s Home Office failed in their last-minute bid to prevent Ibori’s release.

    TheNewsGuru can report that the apparent decision to block Ibori’s release and detain him appears to have come from the highest echelons of the UK Government – the Home Secretary who was accused in today’s hearing of acting unlawfully and misusing her powers.

    Sian Davies, the Crown Prosecution lawyer did not object to Ibori’s return to Nigeria, yet at the last minute the Home Office stepped in. There is clear discord between the two arms of the British Government.

    Ibori’s team was led by Ian McDonald QC, the leading QC on immigration.

    The visibly irritated Judge could not understand the Home Secretary’s position and at times was critical of the move to detain Ibori any further.

    Justice Juliet May rejected the Home Secretary’s requests for conditions to be imposed and ordered Ibori’s immediate release.

    British Home Secretary, Amber Rudd, is being unlawful and indications reveal she is misusing her powers.

    Ivan Krolic, who also attended explained that Ibori’s confiscation proceedings collapsed in 2013, after the Prosecution was unable to establish any theft from the Delta State and any benefit for Ibori. A three-week hearing which heard live evidence was abandoned by the prosecutors – Wass QC and Shutzer-Weissman. Both prosecutors have since been dismissed from the case for gross misconduct.

    Krollic further explained that British police officers in the case led by DC McDonald, have again been referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission and now face a though investigation into their corrupt activities in this case. The CPS has confirmed officers in the case were corrupt. It has since disclosed substantial material evidencing the graft.

    Ibori and others have long maintained that this prosecution was politically motivated. It was funded by the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID), whose senior employee was also the jury foreperson in one of the earlier trials.

    The Ibori case has been plagued with British police corruption, exceptional prosecutorial misconduct and fundamental non-disclosure. A multitude of appeals have now been launched or are in the process of being launched.

    As at the time of filing this report, the UK government has obeyed the court order with Christine Ibori Ibie leading a pack of Ibori associates to prison to pick up freed James Ibori.

  • Ibori goes to church

    ImageFile: Ibori goes to church
    James Onanefe Ibori in company of Emmanuel Uduaghan and Ifeanyi Okowa.

    The long wait will be over soon! May even have been over before you get to read this!

    The gates of the London prison will soon open for the enigmatic ‘Sheikh’, James Onanefe Ibori, to breathe the air of freedom.

    Already, a huge number of Nigerians is on ground the United Kingdom (UK) to accord the former Delta state governor grandstanding reception as he steps out of jail. They are there to show solidarity, to pledge their loyalty. To some, it is to generally position themselves in Ibori’s good book for some 2019 election spoils.

    The number of associates right there is enormous; quality men and women not only from his home state, Delta, but indeed from across a broad spectrum of his political associates all over Nigeria. The deputy governor of Delta state, Kingsley Otuaro, is leading a delegation of commissioners, top Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members and others. This is perhaps a foretaste of the carnival like reception Chief Ibori will receive when he steps foot in Nigeria.

    A Nigerian who has resided in London for 15 years could only wonder: “From what I have seen, all the movement and preparations, the world would not understand why despite his conviction, Chief Ibori is still attracting this huge following”.

    Meanwhile, TheNewsGuru can reveal that Ibori has a different plan. Not for him is any celebratory carnival. Indeed he is set to shock most of those who have flooded London to receive him.

    This is Chief Ibori’s own plan: to leave the prison abode of the past four years and head straight to a church near where he has made arrangements for accommodation until he is able to return to Nigeria. And it is not even the Nigerian style of loud thanksgiving, where all his associates and family will put up a loud show of thanking God.

    TheNewsGuru gathered from very reliable sources close to him that Ibori wants to go straight to the nearest church alone and spend the whole day there, in a solo worship and praise. Ibori who is a Baptist will have no qualms going to the nearest worship place of any Christian denomination close to his new abode.

    Not many of those who have flooded London seemingly know of this plan. Ibori is bent on doing this show his own way. The solo worship will be a retreat.

    After four years of incarceration, it is not to be questioned why Ibori wishes to be left alone for a whole day in the house of God unhindered and not distracted, to thank the Almighty for seeing him through all the rough road, stress, disappointments, and to seek more grace to overcome.

    Ibori was sentenced to 13 years in prison by a Southwark Crown court on 17th April, 2012, after pleading guilty to 10 counts of money laundering and stealing.

    Despite his travails, Ibori has managed to maintain a core of die-hard loyalists in Delta state and indeed across the country. He is extremely still very popular in Delta as his absence did not stop his political family from dominating and retaining power in Delta state. It is common knowledge that he singlehandedly installed the current governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, from his prison cell.

  • Nigerians invade London for Ibori

    A steady stream of Nigerians made up of especially Deltans have in the past week flooded London in anticipation of James Onanefe Ibori, who is scheduled to be released this week, after completing his 13 years jail sentence for corruption and money laundering.

    This is especially so as Ibori has indicated that he will not be coming home immediately he is released.

    In a statement by his media chief, Tony Eluemunor, Ibori said “When the time comes any important information will be made available to the public and nothing would be left for conjecture”.

    Leading the pack of Deltans, and both federal and state political associates of Ibori is the Deputy Governor of Delta State, Kingsley Otuaro, some commissioners and top Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftains in the state.

    Apart from the official delegation, most of Ibori’s political associates have all relocated to London to welcome their leader.

    A Southwark Crown court had on 17 April 2012, sentenced Ibori to 13 years in prison after the ex-governor pleaded guilty to 10 counts of money laundering and stealing $250m from the treasury.

    Despite his travails, Ibori has managed to maintain a core of die-hard loyalists in Delta state and indeed across the country. He is extremely still very popular in Delta as his absence did not stop his political family from dominating and retaining power in Delta state.

    It is common knowledge that he singlehandedly installed the current governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, from his prison cell.

    Already, permutations are pointing at a massive reception for the former Delta state governor.