United Kingdom has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to return the sum of £4.2 million (about N2.4 billion) assets stolen by former Delta State Governor, James Ibori to Nigeria.
Ibori, who governed oil-rich Delta State from 1999 to 2007, pled guilty to 10 counts of fraud and money-laundering at London’s Southwark Crown Court in 2012 and was sentenced to 13 years behind bars.
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After serving half of his sentence in pre- and post-trial detention, Ibori was released from jail in December 2016 and is now back in Nigeria.
British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Catriona Laing, has now signed the MoU which will guarantee that some of the ex-governor’s loot in cash and assets are returned to Nigeria.
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Laing, while sigining the MoU at the Conference Hall of the Ministry of Justice, said the money was recovered from friends and family members of the former governor.
She frowned that many Nigerians were in the habit of siphoning money from the country to UK, saying that has also affected the level of trust between the two countries.
Laing however warned that UK will no longer be used as a destination for looters to siphon proceeds of crimes.
On his part, Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami said the recovery of the stolen fund is part of the efforts of the current administration to fight corruption.
He stated that the money will be used for the construction of the second Niger Bridge, Abuja-Kano road, and Lagos-Ibadan Express road under the coordination of Nigeria Social Investment Authority (NSIA).
Malami expressed;
The Governments of Nigeria and the United Kingdom have concluded negotiations for the return of £4.2million to Nigeria pursuant to the Memorandum of Understanding earlier executed by the two governments in 2016.
Based on the agreement signed, the £4.2million is to be returned two weeks from now.
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Nigeria has similarly been retrieving billions of dollars from across the world, stolen by former military dictator, Sani Abacha.
The Federal Government has also tied the recovered Abacha’s loot to infrastructure provision.
