Despite the intense campaign of disinformation being orchestrated by James Ibori and Nigeria's controversial Attorney General, Michael Aondoakaa through local Nigerian media outlets, neither James Ibori nor his many associates facing trial in the UK for money laundering have been freed from prosecution by the recent ruling of the London High Court, according to the lead ruling delivered last week by High Court Lord Justice Hughes.
In fact, court documents recently obtained by SaharaReporters show that the Metropolitan Police have obtained fresh evidence of Ibori's extensive money laundering activities in Guernsey, Mauritius and the United States. Also, the Metropolitan Police authorities maintains that Ibori is yet to be charged in the UK because he is on the run, meaning that he is a fugitive from the law. But Saharareporters investigations show that Ibori and Aondoakaa's well–funded spin in the Nigerian media was aimed at preparing the grounds for the scandalous ruling of the Court of Appeal in Kaduna yesterday, which literally put an end to his Nigerian trial.
SaharaReporters had reported that a panel of judges at the Court of Appeal was bribed to put an end to Ibori's case while Yar'adua toyed with the idea of crowning him minister and putting him in charge of the new "Ministry of the Niger Delta." Although Ibori denied that he was going to become a minister, our investigations revealed that the ruling was ready as we reported. Yesterday, the bizarre ruling read by Justice Amina Adamu-Augie, a female judge at the Court of Appeal in Kaduna (duly supported by Justice Moshood Abdulrahman Oredola and also endorsed by Justice Abdulkadir Jega-one of the judges who received a bribe at the Presidential Elections Tribunal to award judgement to Umaru Yar'adua in February 2008) gave Ibori the leeway he had always sought to end his corruption trial in Nigeria. The ruling ordered the chief judge of the Federal High Court of Nigeria to "re-assign" Ibori's case to the jurisdiction where the crime was committed.
Legal analysts have cried foul. Many of them who spoke to SaharaReporters stressed that the Federal High Court in Nigeria has jurisdiction over federal crimes and suspects could be tried anywhere in the country, similar to a Court of Appeal ruling in Kaduna regarding businessman and Social Democratic Party (SDP) and June 12 election winner, M.K.O Abiola. Some of the analysts also pointed to the case of Niger Delta militant, Henry Orkar, who is currently standing trial before a Federal High Court in Jos for offences he allegedly committed in the Niger Delta region.
But the favorable ruling for Ibori was aimed at ending the remainder of the cases proffered against corrupt former governors, majority of who have already instructed their lawyers to file fresh motions asking for their cases to be repatriated to the jurisdiction of their choices. Most of the former governors are currently standing trial for money laundering in Federal High Courts in jurisdiction outside their states of origin. Despite being tried in Kaduna by a Federal High court judge, Ibori—with the support of his cousin and current governor or Delta State State, Emmanuel Uduaghan— transported thugs from Delta State in large numbers. They attacked the court building and assaulted EFCC prosecutor, Rotimi Jacobs, during his pre-trial hearing.
Before the shocking ruling yesterday, the EFCC had last week hinted of the coming decisions in order to preempt public outcry. It said that some elements opposed to the government was assaulting its leadership because of some decisions they were about to take on the high profile cases being tried by the agency, starting with a plea bargain with the former governor of Edo State, Lucky Igbinedion and James Ibori. Though the EFCC said it intends to "appeal" against the plea bargain granted Mr. Igbinedion, who left the Enugu court in considerable triumph, it has remained quiet over its intended action against Ibori's "victory" at the Court of Appeal. SaharaReporters sources indicated that there is an internal outcry within the EFCC, working assiduously to do damage control regarding the cases of Ibori and Igbinedion. The agency is expected to make definite pronouncements to the effect that they will appeal both cases, to demonstrate its “seriousness” the EFCC, may even do a dress rehearsal by "re-arresting" and charging Igbinedion again.
Legal analysts say that with ibori's victory in the Court of Appeal concerning jurisdiction, Mr. Igbinedion has by implication gained added grounds of legal advantage and can appeal against his limited conviction since his case was also tried outside of his home state, Edo. This same argument would also apply to DSP Alamieyeseigha, and other former governors facing trial outside their home turfs where they can easily and repeatedly buy justice or intimidate witnesses and prosecutors. One of the legal analysts drew attention to the Bode George case at a Lagos High Court, which now teeters on the verge of collapse as prosecution witnesses have given testimonies in conflict with that of the prosecution.
In arriving at the scandalous judgment concerning Ibori, Mrs. Augie, herself an indigene of Onitsha, confirms she has been in the camp of James Ibori all along. It would be recalled that she was the one that ordered the release of his passport in an earlier ruling, which enabled Ibori to embark on whirlwind travels to Dubai, South Africa, Mauritius and China. Ibori's extensive travels, according to a US law enforcement sources, enabled him to dissipate a lot of his hidden assets.
Justice Augie also sat in the panel of Court of Appeal justices that cleared Ibori of the contentious ex-convict charges in 2005, her making her ruling Augie held that "the admission by Yusuf that he followed Governor Ibori's lawyer, Bala Ngilari, to the Delta State Governor's lodge to see Ibori at 9.00 a.m., an office hour, rendered the testimony incredible and defective.", the case which later ended up in the Supreme Court remains the best evidence yet of judicial corruption Nigeria's reent history as Ibori was later found to have a history of two previous convictions in the UK.
London High Court Ruling
Contrary to the reports in the Nigerian media, which cites page 16 of the High Court ruling, the crux of the London High court ruling was that the evidence obtained from Nigeria through the former Attorney General, Bayo Ojo is definitely in the bag to commence the trial of Ibori's associates, on January 12, 2009, in the extensive money laundering cases proffered against them in the United Kingdom. In a statement made available to SaharaReporters, prosecutors of the Metropolitan Police expressed satisfaction regarding the ruling. It said, "Following an appeal at Southwark Crown Court on 18.12.08, Lord Justice Hughes has upheld the bi-lateral treaty of 1993, allowing the Nigerian Economic and Financial Crime Commission [EFCC] and the Metropolitan police to work together, sharing evidence concerning the investigations and prosecution of crime and the confiscation of the proceeds of crime."
The statement reads further, "The appeal was made by lawyers representing a number of defendants who are subject to criminal allegations in the United Kingdom and one who is the subject of corruption allegations in Nigeria."
DCI Sean Wanless of the Met's Economic and Specialist Crime Command said: " We are extremely pleased with Lord Hughes ruling and will continue to work with the Nigerian Authorities to tackle international corruption."
The second tranche of evidence obtained directly from the Nuhu Ribadu-led Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) would not be immediately admissible in evidence due to Aondoakaa's interference in the case, except on two grounds. The first is that the Metropolitan Police, through the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), re-apply for endorsement from AGF Aondoakaa in accordance with the interpretation of the Mutual Legal Agreement Treaty (MLAT), since he opposed the use of the evidence in the first place, (due to his closeness to Ibori and expressed intention to frustrate the trial in the first instance.)
Secondly, prosecuting attorneys of the Crown Prosecution Service might appeal to the trial judge at the Magistrate Court to look passionately at the evidence, in accordance with section 78 of the Police & Criminal Evidence Act 1984, to admit the evidence regardless of how it was obtained. The criminal history of Mr. Ibori and his wife, Theresa, might prove useful in getting a favorable ruling in this regard, but it will depend on the discretion of the judge.
Based upon the ruling of the High Court, Theresa Ibori's bail application hearing was billed for next week (December 22, 2008) at the Southwark Court before Judge Rivlin. If bailed, Theresa was expected to return to Nigeria on a hiatus since her passport is bound to be released to her. In that event, Ibori and the Delta State government will give her a heroine’s welcome, although she will be expected to return to face trial in January, which she is unlikely to honor. The same judge had previously granted bail to Joshua Dariye, DSP Alamieyeseigha and his wife; none of them returned to London to face trial.
Meanwhile, Ibori's co-accused in Kaduna, Udo Amaka Okoronkwo continues to languish in the Holloway prison in the UK after she was repatriated from France where she was picked up on a European warrant. Mrs. Okoronkwo's lawyers have tactically avoided applying for bail pending the decision of the London High Court, and it is expected that she will come forward to make bail applications now that the ruling is over and the Metropolitan police will likely ask for stringent bail conditions.
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