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For the 3rd day, Theresa Ibori unable to make bail

May 21, 2008
Theresa Nkoyo Ibori (Nee Nakanda), wife of former Governor James Onanefe Ibori of Delta, was today spending a third night in Holloway Prison in London as her lawyers remained unable to secure anyone willing to come forward to post bail on her behalf. 

Mr. Ibori's friends in London are scared that the Metropolitan Police in London might investigate their finances should they step forward to bail his embattled wife out of prison. 

A source with the Crown Prosecution Service told Saharareporters that Mrs. Ibori’s stiff bail conditions owed to her status as a "flight risk" as well as her prior conviction in 1992 by a UK magistrate court for stealing and dishonesty. She committed the offences with James Ibori, while they were still dating.
Mrs. Ibori, who was re-arrested by the Metropolitan Police in London and charged with money laundering offences on Monday, was granted stiff bail conditions on Tuesday.

 Despite her lawyers’ strenuous efforts to secure her bail, she remains at the all-female Holloway Prison on Parkhurst Road in London. A police source told Saharareporters that she is sharing a room with three or more females in her detention cell. The source described her mood as “sullen and distraught.”

 

Even though she is Mr. Ibori’s legal wife, several family sources told Saharareporters that she is not close to the former governor who enjoys a more public and cordial relationship with Udoamaka Okoronkwo, his mistress. Ms. Okoronkwo and Mr. Ibori are currently standing trial on money laundering charges before a Federal High Court in Kaduna.

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