UK courtroom rejects Ibori’s attraction to cut back £101.5m asset confiscation order

Crime

By Linda Ikeji
4 November 2026, 9:30 pm

The Court of Appeal in London has dismissed an attraction by former Delta State Governor James Ibori to cut back a £101.5 million confiscation order imposed after his conviction for fraud and cash laundering.

The courtroom rejected Ibori’s problem on Tuesday, November 3, Reuters reported. He had sought to cut back the quantity by about £4.3 million ($5.8 million). Southwark Crown Court issued the order in July 2023, directing him to pay instantly or face an eight-year jail time period in default.

The attraction had delayed enforcement of the order. The confiscation course of can now transfer ahead until Ibori challenges the ruling on the UK Supreme Court. Speaking to Reuters after the choice, Ibori mentioned he was consulting his legal professionals about his subsequent steps. He expressed frustration on the size of the proceedings, including: “Give me a break.”

Ibori ruled Delta State from 1999 to 2007. He left Nigeria for Dubai and was extradited to Britain in 2011. A UK courtroom convicted him in 2012 after he pleaded responsible to laundering tens of thousands and thousands of {dollars} in public funds by means of British banks and properties. He was sentenced to 13 years in jail and launched in late 2016 after serving about half of that time period, together with time spent in custody earlier than and after his trial. He returned to Nigeria in early 2017.

The confiscation proceedings adopted investigations by Nigerian and British anti-corruption authorities. In 2020, British prosecutors started proceedings to get better properties price about £117 million linked to Ibori. In July 2023, Judge David Tomlinson ordered the confiscation of £101.5 million, citing the courtroom’s findings about belongings traced to the previous governor. Ibori mentioned on the time that the ruling was troublesome to grasp and settle for. He argued that prosecutors had failed to determine that cash had been stolen from Delta State and accused the choose of disregarding proof and arguments introduced by his legal professionals.

He additionally challenged the requirement to pay instantly, saying it might take a number of months to promote the belongings beneath restraint. He mentioned the eight-year default sentence might grow to be a problem if the sale proceeds fell wanting the quantity ordered. In 2021, the British authorities returned £4.2 million recovered from Ibori’s former spouse and sister to Nigeria beneath a memorandum of understanding the 2 international locations signed in March of that yr.