Ibori's Loot

Details of former Governor James Ibori’s financial scams and the ways he went about them in Delta are mind-boggling

As Reverend God-do-well Avwomakpa, the Delta State Chairman of Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, reads this story, he is bound to experience some psychological trauma. This is because, as he would find out, his action will go down in history with the same infamy as some European chaplains who, apart from building places of worship at slave camps, accompanied and blessed ships that sailed to Africa, carrying human cargo to the United States and the West Indies, from where they brought molasses in their triangular trips back to Europe.

Avwomakpa, on 1 October 2007, presided over the thanksgiving service held at Government House, Asaba, the Delta State capital. It was in commemoration of the “victory” of former Governor James Ibori in his legal tango with a United Kingdom court over the former governor’s seized, illegally acquired assets. The subject of this religious service had, for eight years, turned Delta into one huge ship, the hull of which was filled with his subjects, living under slavish conditions, even as he appropriated their common wealth through a panoply of tricks and multifarious proxies.

The service was attended by Ibori’s first cousin and successor, Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan; Mr. Olisa Imegwu, Speaker of the state House of Assembly; Ifeanyi Okowa, Secretary to the State Government, SSG; Professor G.G. Darah; Chief Ighoyota Amori; Chief Paulinus Akpeki and the Delta State Executive Council members.

At the occasion, Uduaghan said with eclat that Ibori was a wealthy man before he became governor of the state, adding that his 8-year tenure actually stalled his business interests. Ibori’s accusers, according to his successor, were only out to cause confusion in his political camp, which he had nurtured over the years. The Governor maintained that Ibori’s victory at the London court was not only for him but the entire people of Delta State.

A Southwark, London Crown court had earlier ordered that Ibori’s seized assets be immediately released. In a suit filed by Crime Prosecution Service, London, on 2 August 2007, the same court ordered the prevention of Ibori, Erin Aviation and others from having access to their assets in that country.