Court issues 14-day ultimatum over Ibori’s alleged $15m bribe to EFCC

By Ikechukwu Nnochiri
US court seizes Ibori’s $3m assets
ABUJA — The Federal Government, yesterday, approached the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court, asking it to order the immediate forfeiture of $15 million allegedly given to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, by the jailed former Governor of Delta State, Chief James Ibori, as bribe.
Federal Government, via an ex-parte originating summons it filed in court, yesterday, said the cash was received by officers of the EFCC from an undisclosed agent of the ex-governor in 2007, as a bribe to compromise his investigation.
It told the court that the commission under its former Chairman, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, deposited the money into the strong room No 1 of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, on April 26, 2007, stressing that Ibori has since denied giving the cash to either the EFCC or any of its officers.
Consequently, Federal Government, alongside the Attorney General of the Federation and the EFCC, which were listed in the suit as the 1st to 3rd applicants respectively, yesterday, beseeched the court for “an interim order forfeiting the sum of $15,000, 000 (Fifteen million dollars) being an unclaimed property in possession of the Central Bank of Nigeria, to the Federal Government of Nigeria pending the publication and hearing of the motion on notice for the final forfeiture order of the said property.”
As well as, “an order of this honourable court directing the publication in any national newspaper of the interim order under relief one above, for anyone who is interested in the property, to appear before this honourable court to show cause within 14 days, why the final order of forfeiture should not be made in favour of Federal Government of Nigeria.”
Meantime, CBN was listed as the only defendant in the application which was filed pursuant to section 17 (1) (2) (3) and (4) of the Advanced Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act No. 14, 2006.
After listening to legal submissions by EFCC lead prosecutor, Mr. Rotimi Jacobs, SAN, who represented all the applicants, yesterday, Justice Gabriel Kolawole maintained that if by September 17, 2012, no one showed up to lay claim to the money, the $15 million bribe would be forfeited to the Federal Government.
Besides, in a 14 paragraphed affidavit deposed by one Bello Yahaya who was one of the investigators assigned by the EFCC to investigate the criminal case against Ibori, he told the court that: “while the investigation was going on, on 25th April, 2007, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, the then Executive Chairman of the EFCC called the investigation team headed by Mr Ibrahim Lamorde the then Director of Operations, to pick up cash in the sum of USD 15, 000, 000. 00 (Fifteen Million Dollars) given to him and the Commission through an undisclosed agent of the said James Ibori.
“That upon picking up the said USD 15, 000, 000. 00 (Fifteen Million Dollars) we deposited same on 26th April, 2007 with the Central Bank of Nigeria which was duly acknowledged and signed for by one M.M El-Yallud, a staff working in strong room 1 of the CBN.
“That from the said 26th April, 2007, the money remained in the custody of the CBN till date. The issue of giving bribe was raised by me in my affidavit sworn to on 9th January 2008 in opposition to James Ibori’s bail application when he was eventually charged to court for Money Laundering Offences.