Ibori And The Nigerian Judiciary

On February 27, 2012 in far away United Kingdom, the long arms of the law finally caught up with a former Governor of Delta State, Chief James Onanefe Ibori, when he pleaded guilty to a 10-count charge of money laundering before the Southwark Crown Court in London.

Consequently, the court slated April 16 and 17, 2012 for sentencing of the former governor to bring to a close long years of drama and legal rigmarole over Chief Ibori’s connection to financial crimes.

Ibori allegedly admitted to the crime of obtaining property by deceit and theft of over £250 million while in office as governor. He also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud, launder money as well as the involvement in a $37m share fraud in a Nigerian telecommunications firm, V-Mobile.

According to the London prosecutor, Sasha Wass, Ibori accepted involvement in widescale theft, fraud and corruption. In fact, it was suggested that the former governor obtained a false age declaration for his governorship race in order to conceal previous criminal records.

The Tide is shocked at the revelations before the London Court and the kind of image it builds for our country and our leaders. For a man blessed with such an exalted office, the allegations being made against him are so unlikely.

But his acceptance of guilt, has come to suggest that the former governor failed himself and the good people of Delta State. It is obvious that like many others, Ibori would have gone away with the crime and covered some shortcomings in the Nigerian judiciary.

Whereas Ibori was acquitted of a 70 count charge before an Asaba Federal High Court presided over by Justice Marcel Awakulehin in December 2009, a London Crown Court confronted him with a 10-count charge and he pleaded guilty.

While the reason(s) for his acceptance of guilt would go to no issue, the realities in this matter can only raise suspicions on the effectiveness of  our judicial system. Indeed, the effectiveness of the prosecution and the judges in Nigeria must be called to question.

But for the meticulous investigation of the prosecution in London and the reputation of the courts, Ibori would have gone away with the crime and denied Delta State the opportunity of getting back some of her stolen money. For this we must commend the judiciary in the United Kingdom.

Indeed, we cannot fail to appreciate the international community for the support it has continued to give the anti-corruption efforts of the Nigerian people and government. Apart from the repatriation of stolen funds, the collaborations have deterred some criminals in high places.

It is now clear that pen-robbers have become more dangerous than armed-robbers. It is almost impossible for any armed robber to steal the amount the governor is alleged to have stolen. But the governor takes it with security provided by the state.

Even worse is the fact that the failure to use the money for the people may have resulted in the lack of water or disease outbreak in some places that could have killed innocent citizens of Delta State.

But corruption has continued to be endemic in Nigeria for a number of reasons. While the value systems of some, if not all the tribes may have tended to celebrate wealth, no matter its source, the judicial system appears to hinge on technicalities that provide easy escape for criminals.

Whereas countries like China has employed heavy penalties to deter criminals, the Nigerian system has continued to water-down sentences and practically emboldened criminals. In fact, the long time it takes to deal with high profile matters defeats the whole idea of justice.

For Nigeria to give life to her fight against corruption, government and especially the National Assembly must take into serious account the demands of the judicial system in the country. For instance, the anti-graft agencies have been calling for special courts for financial crimes, while experts also say the ICPC and the EFCC need to be strengthened.

Similarly, a cross section of the population has argued and rightly too, that the anti-graft bodies can do very little when some political office holders enjoy immunity from prosecution. In addition to the call for the removal of the immunity clause, Nigerians have severally asked for a comprehensive review of the nation’s statutory books.

Clearly, Nigeria cannot continue to ignore these calls and expect perfect systems to drop from the sky. Because of the inability of the state to prosecute many former governors, this country must do something and quickly too before there was a relapse to the state where might is right.

Government must identify and correct the things that make high profile criminals in Nigeria go scot-free often, while they fall flat before foreign courts. Surely the fault is not in the criminals, but in our judicial system.