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Tag: UK

  • Appeal case ruling: Integrity of British Justice at stake, Ibori reacts again

    Chief James Onanefe Ibori has again reacted as Court 7 of the Royal Courts of Justice rules on the Ibori & V Mobile appeal case, saying it is either the leave to appeal is granted based on the fatal nature of the disclosure-failure in part of the Crown Prosecution Service and the Metropolitan Police Service Proceeds of Crime Unit (POCU) or a brutal assault on the integrity of British Justice would be committed.
    TheNewsGuru (TNG) reports Ibori stated this following press statement of Sunday 14 October, 2018, where he said he had little confidence in the British Judicial system because of the brazen miscarriage of justice and abuse of human rights he experienced first-hand during his travail in the United Kingdom.
    “Let me re-state unequivocally what I stated in my application for leave to appeal my conviction at the Court of Appeal. I continue to hold that I am a victim of political persecution. Consequently, I have lost faith in British Justice and the ability of the British legal system to dispense justice fairly because it is deeply entrenched in politics and international conspiracy funded by Department for International Development (DfID).
    “I have been through it and have observed first-hand the desperation and wicked machinations inherent in a process that pronounces you guilty then finds evidence to cover up a corrupt system at all cost even at the detriment of the integrity of the judicial process,” Ibori said, reiterating his stance in the Sunday’s statement.
    In the Sunday’s statement signed by his Media Assistant, Tony Eluemunor, Ibori drew attention to a tweet from Mr. Lambertus de Boer, which stated that “anybody conversant with the case would know that The Ibori & V Mobile Appeal comes to an important juncture. It will be interesting to see the Lord Justices’ findings concerning the Metropolitan Police Service Proceeds of Crime Unit (‘POCU’) corruption, it’s cover up and non-disclosure in all trials & appeal. Convictions Unsafe”.
    To Ibori, that is the heart of the matter.
    “The British judiciary is supposed to rest on a strong foundation of openness, transparency and the rule of law. My Barristers have done their best to draw attention to the issue of disclosure and the protocol associated with materials obtained by way of wiretap.
    “It is a short and simple case that does not require the length of time it has taken to adjudicate. Its either the leave to appeal is granted based on the fatal nature of the disclosure-failure or a brutal assault on the integrity of British Justice would be committed.
    “The Crown Prosecution Service deliberately spat on the law when they wilfully disregarded the stipulations of the law governing the use of disclosures as applicable to evidence procured through telephone intercept, and even the rules that govern wiretapping itself.
    “This flaw is unpardonable in British legal system even in serious cases like terrorism much less fraud and money laundering of which prison terms have been served and expired. Thus the lengthy delay can only point to conspiratorial cover-up and silence,” he stated.
    He further stated, “It is also a proven fact that massive Police corruption has been uncovered in this case. How the Court of Appeal Justices will view them is therefore important to watchers of the United Kingdom’s system of justice. This will show whether the much talked about British Judiciary is more of a hollow ritual in politically charged cases or whether it can administer justice fairly no matter whose ox is gored. I have my doubts”.
    The Court of Appeal in London will on Wednesday rule on the application for leave to appeal on the grounds of massive disclosure failures on the part of the Crown Prosecution Service and the Metropolitan Police.
    Ibori’s lawyers have accused both agencies of deliberate cover up of police corruption.
     

  • Ibori loses faith in UK judicial system, as Court 7 rules appeal case

    As Court 7 of the Royal Courts of Justice rules on the Chief James Onanefe Ibori & V Mobile appeal case on Wednesday 17 October 2018, the former Delta state governor has said he no longer has faith in the United Kingdom (UK) judicial system.
    TheNewsGuru (TNG) reports Ibori, who stated this in a press statement on Sunday issued by his media assistant, Tony Eluemunor, said “Let me state unequivocally that just as I stated in the legal appeal against my conviction, I have been a victim of political persecution instead of judicial and legal prosecution as untold quantum of lies were heaped against me – even in the United Kingdom and by her officials too.
    “Owing to this, I have since lost faith in the British judicial system having been through it and observed first-hand the politics, desperations and wicked machinations inherent in the process that rigged the trial against me and against all judicial wholesome processes which differentiate the modern era from the dark ages”.


    Read full statement:
    “I have been informed that the British Court of Appeal will on Wednesday 17th, 2018 in London rule on the challenge I mounted against my conviction. Many Nigerian journalists who have been following Mr. Lambertus de Boer on Twitter have also for days now been contacting me concerning the ruling.
    “Let me state unequivocally that just as I stated in the legal appeal against my conviction, I have been a victim of political persecution instead of judicial and legal prosecution as untold quantum of lies were heaped against me – even in the United Kingdom and by her officials too.
    “Owing to this, I have since lost faith in the British judicial system having been through it and observed first-hand the politics, desperations and wicked machinations inherent in the process that rigged the trial against me and against all judicial wholesome processes which differentiate the modern era from the dark ages.
    “Therefore, to those who have been calling me ahead of the ruling, I say this: Whatever the outcome of Wednesday’s ruling, I will continue to protest the political nature of my predicament. This was very evident in the attempt by the Home Secretary to detain me in prison beyond the stipulated sentence even after I had served my legally prescribed term.
    “In all of this I will say that what I have been through since the persecution against me began has taught me incredible lessons; lessons I could not have learnt in any institution of higher learning. Such uncommon lessons have made me a better person as they have shown me the down side of life and that, unfortunately, perception often trumps reality.
    “I have accepted my ordeal as part of my destiny and have come to terms with it. I have served my punishment, and I have never allowed the ordeal to weigh me down. Luckily for me, with every passing day the charges heaped on me are daily proved to have been deliberate lies.
    “My immediate family and friends have suffered the devastating consequences of my travails. I have served my time and it is time for me to move on with my life. I have decided to dedicate the rest of my life to worthy causes in my beloved Delta state, Mother Nigeria and Africa as a whole. Very soon, some of such worthy causes may be made public, but for now, I will prefer them to remain unannounced.
    “I am not a piece of chinaware that would break to pieces if it fell on the kitchen floor. No! Instead, like a good mechanic, I will, God helping me, put together the pieces of my life which my political enemies and their collaborators, both local and foreign, think they have irrevocably shattered. No, God has not allowed me to break into pieces. With the new chance He has given me, I will place myself in the service of humanity”
     

  • Former British PM advises party to vote down May’s possible Brexit deal

    Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair on Thursday said he would advise Labour Party lawmakers to vote down a Brexit divorce deal that Theresa May is trying to clinch with the EU.
    Nearly six months before the United Kingdom’s exit from the EU, there is little clarity about how the world’s fifth largest economy and its preeminent international financial centre will trade with the EU after Brexit.
    Blair, Labour prime minister from 1997 to 2007, said voters should be given another referendum on whether to stay in the EU as he saw deadlock in British politics.
    If May gets can strike a deal with the EU, she has to get it approved by the British parliament which is divided on Brexit.
    Labour has indicated it is likely to vote down any deal May brings back.
    When asked if he would advise Labour lawmakers to vote down a possible deal, Blair said: “It really is difficult.
    “The alternatives are all worse because if you do get to a blockage in parliament that is what opens up the possibility of going back to the people.
    “My view is this only happens if there is blockage in parliament.
    “However, if there is blockage in parliament it is a very simple argument. You say look we have been two and a bit years trying to reach an agreement that works, parliament is blocked.”
    Both opponents and supporters of Brexit agree that the divorce is Britain’s most significant geopolitical move since World War Two.
    However, they cast vastly different futures for the 2.9 trillion dollars UK economy and the world’s biggest trading bloc.
    Blair has repeatedly called for reversing Brexit, echoing other critics such as French President Emmanuel Macron and billionaire investor George Soros, who have suggested that Britain could still change its mind.
    Blair said that if Brexit did happen, the economic dislocation would be such that the United Kingdom would have to pitch to investors that it would be the best place in the world to do business.
     

  • 40 UK lawmakers willing to vote down Brexit deal

    At least 40 lawmakers in Prime Minister Theresa May’s Conservative Party are willing to vote down her possible Brexit deal if it leaves European Union (EU), a senior lawmaker said on Tuesday.
    A lawmaker, Steve Baker told BBC radio that there are possibilities for the 40 lawmakers to vote down the Brexit if it leaves the United Kingdom ‘half in and half out’ of the EU.
    “My estimate is that there are at least 40 colleagues who are not going to accept a ‘half in, half out’ Chequers deal or indeed a backstop that leaves us in the internal market and the customs union.
    “Colleagues will not tolerate a half in, half out Brexit,” Baker, who served as a junior Brexit minister in May’s government until he resigned in protest at her Brexit proposals said.
    If May secures a deal with the EU, she has to get the British parliament to approve it and would need the backing of about 320 lawmakers to get approval.
    If 40 of her lawmakers voted against a possible deal, the fate of the government and exit process would depend on the opposition Labour Party, which has indicated it will vote against almost any deal May might secure.
    Under May’s proposals, Britain will seek a free trade area for goods with the EU, largely by accepting a “common rule book” for goods and British participation in EU agencies that provide authorisations for goods.
    Some Brexiteers say those proposals would ensure the EU kept control over swathes of the British economy and thus run counter to the spirit of her manifesto pledge to leave the EU Customs Union and the Single Market.
    “We are awaiting the detail of exactly what we are going to be asked for vote for.
    ”I don’t doubt that every possible technique is going to be used to sow doubt in colleagues’ minds and to encourage them to vote with the government.
    “In the end the EU is not entitled to split the UK and it’s not entitled to constrain how we regulate our economy and govern ourselves after we leave,” Baker said.
    Without an approved deal, the UK would move from seamless trade with the rest of the European Union to customs arrangements set by the World Trade Organisation for external states with no preferential deals.
    “If the UK faces either possibility then we must in the end be willing to say it’s a bad deal, and no deal is better than a bad deal.
    “We would need to be unafraid to go forward without an agreement,” Baker said.
     

  • UK foreign minister attacks Google over child abuse content

    UK foreign minister attacks Google over child abuse content

    British Foreign Minister, Jeremy Hunt, accused Google on Thursday of abandoning its moral values by failing to remove child abuse content while launching a version of its search engine in China that will block some websites.

    The government has repeatedly criticised online platforms such as Twitter, YouTube and Facebook for failing to remove abusive material or sexual content posted online even after they were notified.

    “Seems extraordinary that Google is considering censoring its content to get into China but won’t cooperate with UK, U.S. … in removing child abuse content,” Hunt said on Twitter.

    “They used to be so proud of being values-driven.”

    Alphabet’s Google plans a search engine in China that will block some search terms and websites, two sources told Reuters earlier this month, in a move that could mark its return to a market it abandoned eight years ago on censorship concerns.

    Google declined to comment on Hunt’s remarks.

    Britain, the U.S., Australia, Canada and New Zealand invited major technology companies to attend a meeting on tackling child abuse and extremism on their websites, but the firms declined to attend, the Daily Mail reported on Thursday.

    Google did offer to send an executive to the conference but the offer was not taken up, a source at the company said.

    In January, Prime Minister Theresa May used an address at the World Economic Forum in Davos to say investors should use their financial power to force internet firms into taking more responsibility for stopping militants and pedophiles using their platforms.

    Google, which quit China’s search engine market in 2010, has been actively seeking ways to re-enter China where many of its products are blocked by regulators.

    Leading human rights groups, including Amnesty International, have urged Google not to bow to censorship demands in China because by doing so, they allege, the company would be complicit in the repression of freedom of speech.

    Search terms about human rights, democracy, religion and peaceful protests will be among the words blacklisted in the search engine app, which The Intercept website said had already been demonstrated to the Chinese government.

    The project is code-named “Dragonfly” and has been under way since the spring of 2017, the news website said.

     

  • I had excellent time in Nigeria – Theresa May

    British Prime Minister, Theresa May, says she had an excellent time in Nigeria and hopes to see increased trade and investment between Nigeria and the UK.

    She spoke with newsmen at the Presidential Wing of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Ikeja on Wednesday in Lagos, shortly before departing the country at 8:10 p.m.

    “I was in Abuja and also in Lagos to see the thriving business community here.

    “We want to see increased trade between Nigeria and UK, increased investment, bringing jobs here in Nigeria, jobs in the UK.

    “This will be good for both countries and I have had an excellent time in here in Nigeria, and I am very pleased to be here today,” she told newsmen.

    Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State, who was at the airport to see her off, said the important visit centered on improving investment in the state and the country in general.

    “She has visited Abuja earlier in the day.

    “The important part of this visit was discussion on how investment in Lagos can be improved by British investors.

    “We realise that Lagos is the commercial capital of Nigeria and a whole lot of British investment are domiciled in Lagos,” he said.

    The governor said they spoke about how to improve investment planning and what Lagos has been doing to attract investors.

    “We having been doing a lot of judicial sector reforms and security sector reforms and she is pleased with the progress we are making in Lagos.

    “She is ready to complement our efforts by opening up export credit facility and also with development finance to some of the things that we are doing in Lagos,” he said.

    Ambode said the discussion also centred around boosting technology and improving infrastructure and the creative industry.

    “We spoke about things related to technology, infrastructure and also the creative industry.”

    On the relationship between Lagos and Britain, Ambode said: “we need to make sure that a whole lot of British investment is coming to Lagos. She is willing to do more with us.

    “You know, Lagos in 1861 was a British colony. The history has been so long, so, we also need to reactivate that,” Ambode said.

    NAN reports that the state government, in a statement by the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Mr Habib Aruna, shed more light on Ambode’s discussion with May.

    Ambode, according to the statement, said that much of Nigerian education, cultural and political systems were influenced by Britain and there were more Nigerians living in the UK than elsewhere in the world.

    The governor said that Lagos remained a place of choice for British investors, especially given that stability in the government, the size of Lagos economy and population, as well as the particular focus of his administration on the rule of law and justice sector reform.

    He also said that it would be of particular importance to Lagos State if British investors could explore the various opportunities that exist in the State in the areas of energy, technology, export finance, infrastructure and the creative industry.

    “So, we spoke about how we can improve the investment climate in Lagos and then the other parts of what Lagos has been doing to attract investors.

    “You know we have been doing a lot in judicial sector reforms and security sector reforms and the Prime Minister was pleased with the progress that we are making in Lagos and ready to complement our efforts by opening up export credit facility and development finance to some of the things that we are doing in Lagos State.”

    The Governor expressed optimism in the strengthening of the relationship between Britain and Lagos and avowed that his administration would do whatever it takes to achieve that goal.

    According to the statement, May, on her part, said that export credit finance to the tune of 750 million pounds sterling, as well as a considerable development finance was available, which Lagos State could look towards.

    She also spoke about the role that British could play in the development of the technology industry in Lagos given the particular capability of the UK in that area.

    The British Prime Minister also noted the special strength of the London City as a financial hub that could be of considerable importance for Lagos State, just as she emphasized sustainability and growth in Britain/Lagos relationship.

    Finally, she expressed the desire of the British government to assist Lagos in the development of her creative industry and alluded to the fact that the jacket she was wearing when she met with the Governor was actually made in Nigeria.

    NAN

  • 2019: Buhari assures UK Prime Minister of credible, free, fair elections

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday in Abuja assured UK Prime Minister Theresa May of his commitment to conducting free, fair and credible elections in 2019.

    Mr Femi Adesina, the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, in a statement, said Buhari gave the assurance during a bilateral meeting with the visiting Prime Minister at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    Buhari welcomed UK’s support toward strengthening democratic institutions in the country.

    ‘‘I assure you that I’m all out for free, fair and credible elections.

    “I’m very pleased that my party is doing very well. The High Commissioner will brief you more.

    “The recent successes in polls in Katsina, Bauchi, and Kogi have boosted our morale greatly.

    ‘‘Nigeria has accepted multiparty democracy and that is putting politicians on their toes, forcing them to work harder.’’

    On the anti-corruption campaign, the President applauded Britain’s support to the country, noting that the success of the fight was very important to ordinary people in the country.

    He recalled that Nigeria had great opportunities and resources between 1999 and 2014 due to high oil prices.

    “But when we came in 2015, oil prices plunged to as low as 37 dollars per barrel.

    ‘‘What we have been doing since 2015 is to focus on infrastructure development, despite low earnings. Work is ongoing on roads, rail, power, and many others,’’ he said.

    On Brexit, Buhari noted that it provided an opportunity to strengthen the historic ties between Nigeria and the UK.

    ‘‘We are nervously watching the development about Brexit because we know that the relationship had been on for a long time.

    “I assure you that I am prepared to strengthen the relationship between our two countries.’’

    The president also thanked the UK government for the support on security and the fight against insurgency in the North-East, as well as the improved trade relations between both countries.

    ‘‘I am very grateful to the British government under you leadership for the help in security, particularly your training team that is in our institution in Kaduna,’’ he said.

    Earlier in a remark before the bilateral meeting, Buhari underscored the need for UK support toward reviving Lake Chad, which is a source of livelihood for millions of people.

    The president told the visiting prime minister that Europe and China were already conducting an indepth study on recharging the Lake through inter-basin transfer from the Central African Republic.

    In her remarks, Prime Minister May said she was pleased to be in Abuja to continue the ‘‘excellent discussions’’ she started with Buhari in London in April, particularly on security, trade, asset recovery and the fight against corruption.

    May welcomed the assurance by the Nigerian government on credible elections in 2019.

    ‘‘Security and defence cooperation are very important steps to address Boko Haram and Islamic State in West Africa,’’ May said.

    On asset recovery, the prime minister said:‘‘We do not want to hold anything that belongs to Nigerian people; but we follow the judicial process which can be slow.’’

    She appealed to Buhari to use his position as ECOWAS Chair to keep the issue of human trafficking on the front burner in the sub-region.

    Buhari and May witnessed the signing of two agreements an Security and Defence Partnership and Economic Development Forum Agreement.

     

  • UK confirms repatriating £70m to Nigeria, pledges to return more

    United Kingdom said it has repatriated £70 million stolen by an unnamed Nigerian citizen who was convicted in an Italian court.

    British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Paul Arkwright, who revealed this to reporters in Abuja on Monday, however, declined to disclose the identity of the person involved in the offence.

    He said, “There was an Italian court case with a particular person involved. A portion of the fund has been in the UK and that was the portion that was returned recently from the UK to Nigeria. So, it’s in that context that the £70 million was returned.”

    He said more funds would be repatriated, stressing that his country was working with the Federal Government to accelerate the legal process of returning the looted money.

    “The British government has no intention of keeping one kobo of Nigerian funds in the UK, it all must come back to Nigeria. Just as in Nigeria, the UK feels that the judicial process is important, and we have to go through those processes before the money can be returned,” he added.

    Arkwright stated that security, trade, investment and 2019 elections will top the discussion between the British Prime Minister, Theresa May and President Muhammadu Buhari during the UK PM state visit on Wednesday.

  • Buhari returns to Abuja Saturday

    Buhari returns to Abuja Saturday

    President Muhammadu Buhari is expected back in the country on Saturday after a 10 working day holiday in the United Kingdom.

    The president will be received on arrival at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja by top government officials led by acting a President Yemi Osinbajo.

    Buhari plans to go to Duara this weekend to observe the Eid-el-Kabir holiday in his hometown.

    The president left the country on Friday, August 3 for London while handing over executive duties to Osinbajo to act as president as required by Section 145 (1) of the 1999 Constitution.

  • London police identify Westminster attack suspect as UK citizen from Sudan

    London police identify Westminster attack suspect as UK citizen from Sudan

    The Metropolitan police said Wednesday that they have identified the suspect behind the Westminster car ramming attack as a 29-year-old UK national of Sudanese origin.

    “A 29-year-old man arrested following the incident in Westminster yesterday, Tuesday, remains in custody at a south London police station.

    “The man, who is a UK national originally from Sudan, was arrested at the scene by armed officers,” the police said adding that he was subsequently further arrested for attempted murder.

    Earlier in the day, the Sky news broadcaster reported citing sources that the name of the suspect was Salih Khater.

    Police also said that they have carried out two searches in Birmingham and another in Nottingham while the third search was underway in Birmingham’s address.

    On Tuesday, a Ford Fiesta collided with several cyclists and pedestrians before crashing at high speed into a security fence outside the Houses of Parliament.

    Three people were injured in the incident.

    UK Prime Minister Theresa May expressed her support for those injured and thanked the emergency services “for their immediate and courageous response.”

    Sputnik/NAN