Ibori’s £4.2m loot arrives Nigeria

James Ibori

Attorney-general of the federation and minister of justice Abubakar Malami has revealed that the British government has paid the £4,214,017.66 looted funds recovered from family members and associates of former Delta State governor James Ibori.

Malami said the loot has been credited into the designated Federal Government account with naira equivalent as of May 10, 2021.

“Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN signed Memorandum of Understanding for the repatriation of the Ibori loot on behalf of the Federal Government of Nigeria,” the minister’s spokesman Umar Gwandu said in a statement on Tuesday.

“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.”

Ibori was convicted by a UK court in 2012 and was sentenced to 13 years in jail after admitting fraud of nearly £50m (N26.3bn), even though prosecutors say the actual amount stolen was about £250m (N131.7bn).

He was released from prison in 2016 after serving a fraction of his term.