Ibori arrest: We never collaborated with EFCC, UK police say

Contrary to stories being sponsored in Nigeria by the chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mrs. Farida Waziri, the UK police neither consulted with the EFCC nor sought the advice or collaboration of the commission in the arrest of James Ibori, the fugitive former governor of Delta State who was arrested in Dubai last week on UK warrants.
UK polices sources told Saharareporters authoritatively this weekend that contrary to the media circus that has been generated by Mrs. Waziri concerning the EFCC’s role in the famous arrest in Dubai, the action was purely undertaken in partnership between the UK police and UAE authorities through the Serious and Organised Crime Agency in Dubai.

This revelation lets the air out of the chest-pumping that has been going on at the EFCC since Ibori was grabbed in Dubai after he slipped through the fingers of the EFCC and the Nigeria Police.  Ibori is currently on bail in Dubai while awaiting an extradition trial that might see him face criminal prosecution in London.

Since his arrest, Mrs. Waziri has engaged in a series of self-serving media activities in which she sought to paint a rosy picture of collaboration between the EFCC and the UK police in arresting Ibori, but a Metropolitan Police Officer told Saharareporters that they couldn't have trused Mrs. Waziri enough to reveal such a high level operation to her in advance knowing she has always been in communication with Ibori even when the EFCC claimed they were looking for him.

The Metropolitan Police also revealed that they do not have any officers on the "ground" that would be working with the delegation the EFCC is reported to be sending to Dubai, pointing out that most of the extradition work would be handled through diplomatic channels between the government of the UAE and the UK.  The officers said the process of extradition would involve them only when their application becomes successful, at which point they would need to go to Dubai to pick up Ibori for his long overdue UK trial.

This clarification put a lie to several reports credited to Mrs. Waziri that her team was in Dubai to work with the British Police to extradite Ibori to the UK.

 Several UK extradition experts told Saharareporters that according to the UK/UAE extradition treaty signed in 2008, the extradition process must be completed within 60 days. UK diplomatic sources told Saharareporters that it was their expectation that Ibori would be in remand for the duration of the extradition process as he might attempt to flee Dubai.  A source told Saharareporters last week that one of his jets has already been put on standby in Dubai in case his escape from the UAE becomes successful.
 
UK officials vow to make representations to the UAE authorities to protest the bail granted Ibori last week, as it violates the terms of the 2008 extradition treaty.   The UK will be sending written evidence to the host country (UAE) and will appoint a prosecutor to represent her at the extradition hearing.  

Our UK police source observed that the sheer amount of translation that needs to be done to commence the extradition hearing in the UAE against Mr. Ibori is so enormous that no serious anti-crime agency would embark on a jamboree to Dubai without adequate preparation.  This undercuts the empty representation that Mrs. Waziri claims she will be sending to the UAE.

Meanwhile, another source has told Saharareporters that Ibori is seeking the support of Atiku Abubakar, Nigeria’s former vice-president who has some influence in the UAE, to try to influence the forthcoming extradition trial at that country’s highest political levels claiming that as a Dubai resident and investor, his extradition  would spell doom for Dubai businesses that rely on high profile Nigerians for existence.

See Official Copy of UK Extradition Treaty with the United Arab Emirates

*Nigeria does not have an extradition treaty with the UAE, so the purported extradition plan by the EFCC was a hoax

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('comments'); });

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('content1'); });

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('content2'); });