Senators Okay Ibori’s Imprisonment

Senate Leader, Victor Ndoma-Egba said last Thursday that the London Court had made its pronouncement on the James Ibori case and it had to be accepted as the evidence must have been properly evaluated

“The court has pronounced, it has pronounced. It is a judicial process and the court evaluated all the evidence before it and has made its judgment,” he added in reaction to the 13-year prison term clamped on Ibori.

Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, Chairman, Senate Committee on Information, Media and Public Affairs, said, “My immediate reaction will be that crime does not pay, ‘and I will also say that it will serve as a lesson to every one in Nigeria that it is better to work for the people than to take care of your own private interest.”

The Progressive Action Congress (PAC) said the imprisonment of Ibori was a serious lesson to others involved in corrupt practises.

Ibori was sentenced to 13 year jail term by the London Court last Tuesday having been found guilty of money laundering and other miscellaneous offences.

The National Chairman of the party, Chief Charles Nwodo, said the final imprisonment of Ibori was a testimony of the fact that however clever a man is, one day that cleverness would consume him.

“ It is unfortunate that a man trusted with the running of the entire Delta State affairs looted almost half of the state resources at the expense of governance.

“ This is a great lesson for all the serving governors and the political office holders that in this world of vanity there is always a judgment day,” he said

He urged the Federal Government to re-double efforts in order to track some of the leaders who had looted the country as that would make resources available to run the economy.

“ Our fear is that peoples’ confidence in the Judiciary and the anti-graft agencies is fast failing due to corrupt cases that are not properly handled.

“ What we cannot do under many years was done in a question of some months in the British court of law,” he said

The party chieftain said it was unimaginable that an individual could amass such enormous amount of wealth that could run the budget of a nation in Africa just out of greed.

“ This puts to questions of the stability of a state in bringing about dividends of democracy to the people.

“ There should be constitutionally recognised institutions to checkmate the excesses of state governors in their appropriation of funds,” he said

He suggested that there was an urgent need for the quick introduction of e-government which would make government disbursement of funds easily traceable in government administration.

“ Our Judiciary should undergo a retreat on how to tackle corruption and also ensuring that the officials are made to declare their assets publicly.

“ Every government official must at all times reflect on the oath taken before assuming office,” he said