Tunde Oyesina 
The Federal Government has confirmed that it has received £4,214,017.66m of the loot associated with the family members of former Delta State Governor, James Ibori. The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Abubakar Malami (SAN) made this known through his media aide, Dr. Umar Jibrilu Gwandu in Abuja.
Gwandu, in a statement issued, said the amount has been credited into the designated Federal Government account with naira equivalent value of the amount as of May 10, 2021. Malami had earlier in March signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the repatriation of the Ibori loot on behalf of the Federal Government. The development, according to Malami, was a demonstration of the recognition of reputation Nigeria earns through records of management of recovered stolen Nigerian stolen in the execution of public oriented projects. While signing the MOU, Catriona Laing, British High Commissioner to Nigeria, said the money, which was recovered from Ibori’s family and friends, will be returned to Nigeria in the coming weeks.
She added that the UK is stepping up efforts to block moves to siphon public funds from Nigeria to the country. New Telegraph recalls in 2012, a UK court sentenced Ibori – who governed Delta from 1999 to 2007 – to prison after convicting him of fraud and money laundering. He had pleaded guilty to a 10-count charge of fraud involving sums amounting to about $66 million.
He was slammed a 13- year jail term but returned to Nigeria in February 2017 after serving part of his term. Ibori later filed an appeal against his conviction which was dismissed by a UK Court paving the way for confiscation of his assets in the UK. In 2018, he claimed he was a victim of political persecution, adding that “quantum of lies were heaped against me”. “Owing to this, I have since lost faith in the British judicial system, having been through it and observed first-hand the politics, desperation 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,” Ibori stated.
