A London court is set to rule on the confiscation charge of about £100 million loot allegedly linked to James Ibori, former governor of Delta state.
At the hearing on Thursday, the prosecutor asked the court to confiscate £101.5 million traced to Ibori.
According to Reuters, Jonathan Kinner, the lead prosecution counsel, said the court should seize the money, adding that if the former governor refuses to cooperate, he should be jailed.
The international news agency reported that the prosecution and defence counsels raised arguments on how the confiscation figure should be calculated.
BACKGROUND
Ibori was governor of Delta between 1999 to 2007.
In 2012, a UK court sentenced him to prison for 13 years after convicting him of fraud and money laundering.
The former governor ended his jail term in 2016 and returned to Nigeria the following year.
Over the years, British prosecutors have made several attempts to confiscate Ibori’s assets alleged to be proceeds of crime.
IN 2020 the United Kingdom launched a bid to confiscate “proceeds of loot” in the £117 million worth of properties linked to Ibori.
In March 2021 the UK government signed a memorandum of understanding with the Nigerian government for the repatriation of £4.2 million loot recovered from Ibori.
In May 2021, the federal government received the £4.2 million loot.
credit- cable
