News

Ibori Vows To Appeal Latest UK Forfeiture Judgement

Published

2 years ago

July 22, 2023

Former governor of Delta State, Chief James Onanefe Ibori has vowed to appeal the latest United Kingdom (UK) forfeiture judgement against him saying that he was being persecuted by the British Judge.

The United Kingdom authorities had reportedly launched proceedings to seize more than £101.5 million from Ibori, who had pled guilty to money laundering charges and served a sentence.

Those knowledgeable about the case say that Ibori’s lawyers had advised him to plead guilty in possible exchange for a lesser sentence.

David Tomlinson, a judge at Southwark Crown Court said he has made “factual findings” about the funds and made a formal order on Friday to compel Ibori to refund a further £ 101.5 million.

Jonathan Kinnear, the senior prosecutor, told the court on Thursday that the total amount of money that should be confiscated from Ibori was £101.5 million.

The lawyer further informed the court that Ibori risks a fresh five to 10 years prison sentence should he fail to pay the money.

The judgement comes seven years after the former governor returned to Nigeria upon serving his time, has since maintained a low profile until his recent political resurgence following his old time friend, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s emergence as President of Nigeria.

His political foes, especially in his home state, Delta, have been reportedly shaken by his reemergence on the political stage, and are alleged to have sponsored a rash of negative media commentaries about him.

Reacting to the latest UK order, Ibori said Judge Tomilson’s ruling was difficult to understand and even harder to accept having believed that justice and fairness would triumph, hearing after hearing, through the years.

He said since 2005 the British Prosecutors had investigated his assets worldwide, have had a restraint order in place on most of those assets and they are well aware that the total monetary value of those assets is nowhere close to the sums that were the subject of the recent Court Order.

This is notwithstanding the fact that many of the assets are not and have never been owned by him, he said and cried foul against the judgement.

Said Ibori: “Albert Einstein is quoted as saying that the “definition of madness is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result”.

“If that is true then I must be going mad because in over a decade since the British Courts have been persecuting myself and those close to me, I kept believing that justice and fairness would eventually triumph.

“In hearing after hearing through the years, despite some of the most logic defying rulings against me- I still believed. Despite clear evidence of police corruption against the main officer in my case (evidence so strong that it caused the lead prosecutor to resign from my case), I still believed.

“Despite a clear victory in my 2013 confiscation hearing which left the Judge unable to make an order against me, only to have him rule that the prosecution should start the trial afresh some years later – I still believed.

“However, today’s ruling from Judge Tomlinson is difficult to comprehend and even harder to accept. I have to move past the fact that the British Courts found themselves competent to sit in Judgment over contracts awarded in Delta State; contracts that were legitimately awarded and completed. I have come to accept my fate despite the inability of the British prosecutors to show any evidence whatsoever of monies defrauded or indeed missing from Delta State.

“Since 2005, the British Prosecutors have investigated my assets worldwide; they have had a restraint order in place on most of those assets and they are well aware that the total monetary value of those assets is nowhere close to the sums that were the subject of today’s Order.

“Not withstanding the fact that many of the assets are not and have never been owned by me – it seems that if you are my friend and you allowed me to spend some holiday time in your house, then by this order I now own your home and must ask you to sell it to satisfy the Order.

“The Order made today was to be paid immediately, this was made in the full knowledge that it could take many months to actually realise the sale of many of these assets.

“There is an eight year default sentence, which means that if I do not co-operate and pay nothing at all, then the prosecution can apply for the imposition of the default sentence. However as the prosecution already has a Restraint Order over the assets – the situation of my not co-operating or paying should not arise.

“However, an issue arises if my Restrained Assets are sold, and the total realised from the sale does not equal the amount in the Order, then the Prosecution can still apply for part of the default sentence to be applied, but they could only ask for a sliding scale reduction of the eight years default sentence based on the amounts that remain outstanding.

“If such an application were to be made it would be vigorously contested. In the normal course of events, any talk of a default sentence would normally be stayed until any outstanding Appeal has been concluded.

“The Judge, in this case, has appeared to have cast aside any pretence of impartiality and has made an Order which is both wholly unrealistic and unrealisable. He has completely disregarded any arguments, evidence or expert witnesses in my favour. It was apparent during these last two days that he has forgotten many of the important elements of the case which is unsurprising as it almost 2 years since the case concluded.

“It has taken him two years to write this Judgment and in the interim he has presided over hundreds of cases, but I refuse to make excuses for him.

“At this point in time words fail me and so the question for me as I take my case to the Court of Appeal, is, if I continue to believe that I may finally get some Justice, is this the definition of madness?

“I know one thing for sure, that if I do not go to the Court of Appeal to contest this outrageous Order the people will definitely say that I am a madman!”

News

Delta Speaker Advocates Strict Legislative Protection Of N’Delta Environment

Published

45 minutes ago

December 20, 2025

Editor

The Speaker of the Delta state House of Assembly Hon. Emomotimi Guwor has advocated for more stringent legislations to protect the Niger Delta environment against violators, especially multinational and local oil companies.

He lamented that these multinational and local oil companies have turned the Niger Delta environment to dumping sites with the pollution of oil exploration and exploitation.

Guwor spoke at the 2nd annual Ijaw media conference 2025, organized by the Ijaw Publishers’ Forum, IPF in Delta State.

According to him, this will curb further damages of the Niger Delta environment, thereby saving the environment for future generations.

The Delta state speaker, who was represented by a former Commissioner for Oil and Gas, Chief Emma Amgbaduba, noted that environmental neglect and social injustice were key drivers of unrest in oil-producing areas.

According to him, ”fishermen and farmers are in acute hunger and hardship due to the polluted rivers and degraded farmlands have pushed many families into hardship, threatening livelihoods that once sustained entire communities”

He warned that unless urgent steps are taken to protect natural resources, the human cost of oil exploration would continue to deepen poverty and insecurity in the region, with consequences for the national economy.

Guwor emphasized that host communities must demand strict compliance by international and indigenous oil companies with global environmental standards and the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).

He noted that environmental neglect and social injustice were key drivers of unrest in oil-producing areas.

Guwor urged residents to take ownership of environmental protection in their communities, while acknowledging ongoing efforts to curb crude oil theft, which he said has worsened pollution and economic losses.

The Speaker stressed that peaceful coexistence within communities remained critical to restoring confidence, attracting investments and improving living conditions in the Niger Delta.

News

IPF’s Conference: Igali Seeks Approval Of License For Locals To Operate Modular Refinery

Published

1 hour ago

December 20, 2025

Editor

The National Chairman of Pan Niger Delta Forum,( PANDEF) Amb. Godknows Boladei lgali, has appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to approve license for Niger Delta sons and daughters who have the requirements to operate modular refineries as it is done in the US and the Western world.

Dr. Igali who was the keynote speaker at the 2025 Ijaw Media Conference made the call on Wednesday December 17, in Warri.

He stated that the operation of modular refineries was for the best interest of increasing the growth of the nation’s economy as well as to create a sense of belonging to the people that own the crude oil and gas.

He said that it is important for the people to properly manage their God-given resources towards the welfare of humanity rather than being destroyed in the name of illegal oil bunkering.

by government security agencies thereby resulting in pollution and degradation of the environment they lived in.

He asserted that most of the raw materials used by industries are deposited in the Niger Delta region, especially crude oil, Gas, palm oil, rubber, cotton etc, stressing that the region will continue to be relevant in Nigeria because of her natural wealth.

He affirmed that Niger Deltans should think of sustaining its natural resources as well as safeguarding its environment for today and the future generations.

He urged the people to be more focused on education and professional skill acquisition, stressing that with the right education and skills, the scholars can invent new things that will better the society.

Igali also commended the Presidential Amnesty Programme Coordinator, Dr. Dennis Otuaro for his good works, while urging him not to be distracted by critics rather, he should continue sending “our sons and daughters abroad to acquire more skills and come back home to develop the Niger Delta region.”

He also urged Niger Deltans to sustain the existing peace, stressing that without peace development cannot strive in the communities.

News

PAP Scholarship Scheme Vehicle For Better Future For Niger Delta —Otuaro

Published

2 hours ago

December 20, 2025

Editor

The Administrator, Presidential Amnesty Programme, Dr Dennis Otuaro, (middle front row) with participants during the opening ceremony for the fifth batch of the two-day "Leadership, Alternative Dispute Resolution and Mediation Training for PAP Stakeholders" organised by the PAP in collaboration with the Alumni Association of the National Defence College (AANDEC) at the Nigerian Army War College, Abuja, on Thursday, 18 December, 2025.

The Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, Dr Dennis Otuaro, has described the programme’s scholarship scheme as a major vehicle towards ensuring a better future for the Niger Delta.

He spoke at the opening ceremony for the fifth batch of the two-day “Leadership, Alternative Dispute Resolution, and Mediation Training for PAP Stakeholders” organised by the Office in collaboration with the Alumni Association of the National Defence College (AANDEC) at the Nigerian Army War College, Abuja, on Thursday.

Otuaro, who declared the workshop open, said that the decision for the massive deployment of scholarship students to universities within and outside Nigeria is informed by the need to utilise formal education to build a sure future for the communities in the region.

In a statement by his Special Assistant on Media, Mr Igoniko Oduma
Otuaro said his leadership’s focus on education is aimed at investing in the youths as a deliberate effort to equip them to be drivers of the planned prosperity, peace, stability and development of the Niger Delta in the years ahead.

He said, “We have seriously focused on education, and the scholarship programme is a proper vehicle for a better tomorrow for our region. So far, between 2024 and 2025, we have deployed over 9000 scholarship students to universities within and outside Nigeria; in-country deployment alone this year is 4500.

“These are deliberate efforts we are taking to prepare our region for tomorrow. We need to prepare the next generation for the challenges of peace, socio-economic growth, development, and security.

“If we don’t equip our youths today with education, tomorrow would not be assured. It is time to prepare for the rainy day, that is why we are deliberately investing in the education of our young ones.

“I believe that the scholarship beneficiaries will appreciate this opportunity that we are giving to them. For nearly two years, we have tried as much as possible to impact nearly all communities through the scholarship programme.”

Otuaro explained that the capacity-building workshop was organised to consolidate the PAP’s peacebuilding process in the Niger Delta in alignment with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu.

He told the participants that they have a great role to play in the task of deepening the peacebuilding process because they are stakeholders and leaders in their own right.

The PAP helmsman said the time had come for stakeholders to unite strongly and come together to resolve issues in the region without the involvement of outsiders.

He urged the participants to be role models for stability and peace ambassadors of President Tinubu in the Niger Delta.

He stressed that peacebuilding should be their watchword going forward.

Otuaro expressed appreciation to Tinubu for his steadfast support for the PAP, saying that the president is pleased with the existing peace and stability in the Niger Delta.

He also applauded the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, for his encouragement and strategic supervision of the PAP.

Otuaro further extended gratitude to the management of the Nigerian Army War College, resource persons, and the leadership and membership of the AANDEC for partnering with the PAP to deepen the peacebuilding process in the region.