Ibori’s $15m Bribe Money: FG, Delta Battle For Ownership

The presiding judge on the case, Justice Gabriel Kolawole, has set the 10th July for the Federal and Delta state governments to argue which side should claim the $15 million recovered from former governor of Delta state, Mr. James Ibori.

At a resumed sitting of the court, Justice Kolawole adjourned the case for hearing for the claimant, Delta State, to make its case for the money.

The $15m cash was said to have been offered as bribe by Ibori in 2007 to the former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Nuhu Ribadu, to compromise on the probe of a fraud allegation against Ibori.

The Federal Government had on July 24, 2012 obtained an interim order that the money be forfeited to it pending the time anyone who may lay bona fide claim shows cause of legitimate ownership at the court.

However in an application filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja, Delta State government claimed that the money rightly and legitimately belonged to it and that the court should order its return to its treasury.

The affidavit averred that any money, asset or property recovered from Ibori rightly belonged to Delta State, and that same should be returned to it as it has always maintained its entitlement to any asset recovered from the former governor as has been done in other states where assets were recovered.