Ibori begins his appeal against 13-year prison sentence by Southwark Crown Court in 2012

FORMER Delta State governor Chief James Ibori has launched an appeal against his 13-year conviction by Southwark Crown Court in the UK in 2012 alleging corruption in the ranks of British police.

In 2012, Chief Ibori was sentenced to 13 years in prison for money laundering and fraud but was released last year after serving less than half of his sentence. Despite pleading guilty to the charges when convicted, the former governor is now appealing the sentence, saying one of the British police officers who investigated him took bribes from a private detective in 2007.

According to Chief Ibori’s lawyers, the private detective was hired by a law firm working for the former governor. They also alleged that British anti-corruption police who were supposed to investigate the alleged bribery instead covered it up to avoid weakening Chief Ibori’s trial and tarnishing the reputation of the police.

This appeal hearing currently being held before three judges at London’s Court of Appeal, is due to last three days. Chief Ibori was due to give evidence yesterday via video-link from Nigeria and he appeared briefly on a screen in court but the connection was lost and could not be restored.

Apparently, the court was told a power cut in Nigeria was the reason for the glitch. Following this, the judges instructed that a new attempt be made to establish a video-link to Chief Ibori today.

About $130m of Ibori’s assets are at stake, which have been frozen for years. A confiscation hearing to determine the true ownership of these properties is also in the pipeline but has been bogged down by legal wrangling.