* Nigerian ex-governor in London court for sentencing
* Ibori has pleaded guilty to stealing millions
* Rare case of a Nigerian politician held to account
By Estelle Shirbon
LONDON, April 16 (Reuters) – A British prosecutor on Monday
charted the extraordinary rise of James Ibori from a petty thief
in London to a powerful governor in Nigeria, describing a web of
bogus firms he used to buy mansions and luxury cars in Britain
with his stolen millions.
Ibori, who was governor of the oil-producing state of Delta
in southern Nigeria from 1999 to 2007, has pleaded guilty to 10
corruption charges, admitting he stole approximately 50 million
pounds ($79 million) from Delta state’s coffers.
The case is being avidly followed in Nigeria, Africa’s most
populous nation, where Ibori used his clout and wealth as
governor of Delta to position himself as a power-broker in
national politics.
He is the most high-profile Nigerian politician to be
successfully prosecuted for corruption, a problem that has
blighted the country since independence from Britain in 1960.
“From the moment Ibori was elected, he set about enriching
himself at the expense of some of the poorest people in the
world,” said prosecutor Sasha Wass at the start of Ibori’s
two-day sentencing at Southwark Crown Court in London.
Continued…
