Nigerian govt confirms receipt of £4.2m Ibori loot

The Federal Government of Nigeria has confirmed the repatriation of £4,214,017 loot linked to former Delta State Governor, James Ibori.

This was confirmed in a statement issued by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami via his spokesman, Umar Gwandu, on Tuesday.

The statement confirmed that the “Federal Government of Nigeria has received GBP 4,214,017.66 of the loot associated with the family members of former Delta State Governor, James Ibori.”

“The amount has been credited into the designated Federal Government account with naira equivalent value of the amount as of 10th May 2021.”

Malami signed the Memorandum of Understanding for the repatriation of the Ibori loot on behalf of the Federal Government of Nigeria.

The Minister said the development 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.

On May 3, Malami had announced that the United Kingdom would repatriate the looted fund to Nigeria any moment from now.

The AG had disclosed then, that “Documentations with the banks in different countries often take longer than anticipated. We anticipated two weeks but we are not in control of the banks.

“There is neither complacency nor any delay as efforts are being made to ensure successful transfer of the looted funds,” he said.

Ibori was Governor from May 29, 1999, to May 29, 2007. In April 2012, he received a 13-year jail sentence after admitting fraud of nearly £50million.

He pleaded guilty two months earlier, to conspiracy to launder funds, substantive counts of money laundering, and one count of obtaining money transfer by deception and fraud.

The Metropolitan Police estimated that Ibori embezzled £157 million of state money.