UK to return £6.8m of Ibori loot to Nigeria
The UK government is to return an additional 6.8
million pounds of the confiscated loot of former Delta Governor, James Ibori,
to Nigeria.
Mr Rupert Broad, UK Metropolitan Police Senior
Investigator, disclosed this in London on Tuesday at a meeting on “Supporting
Policing in Nigeria: What Role for Police in the Nigerian Diaspora” held in the
House of Commons.
While speaking
on UK and Nigeria's anti-corruption partnership, Broad said ``out of the
eight million pounds confiscated from
Ibori, 1.2 million pounds had so far been returned to Nigeria, while the rest
was waiting for redistribution as to when it would be sent back to Nigeria.''
He also said that an additional 80 million pounds had
been temporarily confiscated from Ibori and his associates, including Mr
Patrice Gohil, one of his lawyers.
“Approximately, 80 million pounds is temporarily
frozen and a confiscation hearing has been fixed for April 2015, where the
judge will determine how much was stolen, after which it would be returned to
Nigeria.”
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the
British Southcrown Court in April 2012 sentenced Ibori to 13 years jail term
for fraud and money laundering.
Broad, who attributed the success of the Ibori case to
partnership with the nation's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC),
said ``the case signified Nigeria's commitment to the fight corruption.
“In the light of the Ibori case, Nigeria has done a
fantastic job in tackling corruption.
“Corruption does not go away easily, addressing it
requires continuous process and the UK Metropolitan Police will continue to
collaborate with Nigerian authorities on cross border international
investigation.”
Similarly, Mr Nsikan Etuk, the Director of the UK
Nigeria Police Forum, said that the diaspora was a powerful tool for the
reformation of the nation's police force.
Etuk, who spoke on “Supporting Policing in Nigeria'',
expressed the commitment of the Forum in collaborating with government in
tackling challenges impeding efficiency in policing in the country.
He said that the Forum, whose membership included
serving and retired police personnel, was established following challenges
facing the Nigerian community in the UK.
In the same vein, Amb. Kunle Bamgbose, the Nigerian
Deputy High Commissioner to the UK, said the nation's police officers were
among the brightest in Africa, adding that they were only impeded by operational challenges.
He said ``inadequate equipment such as communication
gadgets, the lack of efficient forensic laboratories and other logistic
problems are some of the challenges facing the police force.''
Bamgbose, however, said ``it is difficult to impose UK
policing culture in Nigeria because the environments are different.''
According to him, partnership in training and capacity
building of officers will be an ideal area of collaboration.
The meeting, which had participants from the Nigerian
community, was chaired by Mrs Meg Hillier, the Chair of the UK All Party
Parliamentary Group on Nigeria. (NAN)
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