Ibori challenges the fairness of his forthcoming confiscation hearing due to start next month

FORMER Delta State governor Chief James Ibori has begun a legal challenge to the impending confiscation hearing die to begin next month that will determine which of his UK assets will be seized.

 

In April 2012, Chief Ibori was sentenced to 13 years on jail by London's Southwark Crown Court after pleading guilty to money laundering and conspiracy charges. He has been in prison ever since although several cases relating to the seizure of his illegally-acquired assets ahead of the confiscation hearing are ongoing.

 

A confiscation hearing was due to take place shortly after Chief Ibori's sentencing to determine how the property seized from him will be sold and given back to Delta State but legal wranglings have delayed it ever since. In April last year, Judge Pitts adjourned the sitting until June 6 next year to allow him time attend to a case of attempt to pervert the course of justice brought against Chief Ibori’s co-defendant Bradresh Gohil.

 

Yesterday, during a preliminary hearing of the confiscation trial, Chief Ibori's counsel Ivan Krolic, said his client might not get a fair hearing. He added that there were established cases of corruption against the police and the crown prosecution counsel who investigated Chief Ibori.

 

This, he said, had led to the dropping every member of the entire police and Crown Prosecution Service teams that investigated Chief Ibori and his associates. He  notified the court that following the revelation that policemen involved in investigating Chief Ibori for money laundering were themselves involved in corruption and were knowingly covered up by the Crown Prosecution Service, the integrity of the entire process had been put in doubt.

 

Mr Krolic added: “There are cases of abuse of process against the crown prosecution to deliberately manipulate the process to gain undue advantage and inflate the confiscation figure which will require a stay of proceeding in this case to allow for the abuse of process to be dealt with.”

 

He added that their argument is that the whole process is infected and it will be wrong for the confiscation hearing to continue. According to Mr Krolic the Crown Prosecution Service consistently and deliberately manipulated the system and forced Chief Ibori to plead guilty and inflate the figures of the money involved in the light of the serious allegation of police corruption in this case.