"James Ibori gave me $15million as bribe in 2007" - Nuhu Ribadu

Desperate to halt a probe into his
finances, governor James Ibori tried to
bribe former anti-corruption boss Nuhu
Ribadu in 2007 with $15 million in cash
in a bag so heavy one man alone could
not lift it, Ribadu told a London court on
Thursday.
Ribadu said he pretended to take the
bribe because he wanted the cash as
evidence to use against Ibori in a
prosecution, but rather than keep the
money for himself he had it taken
straight to the Central Bank of Nigeria to
be kept safe in a vault. Continue..
Ribadu told the court that about $1
billion flowed from federal government
accounts into Delta State coffers during
Ibori’s eight years in power, and he
estimated Ibori had stolen or wasted
more than half of that amount.
The charges to which Ibori pleaded guilty
amount to the theft of about $80 million,
but British prosecutors say that was only
part of his total booty, which was kept
hidden via a complex web of shell
companies, offshore accounts and front
men.
Ribadu, who was chairman of Economic
and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)
from April 2003 to December 2007, was
giving evidence at a confiscation hearing
in which prosecutors are seeking court
orders to have Ibori’s assets seized.
Under Nigeria’s constitution, state
governors enjoy immunity from
prosecution but are limited to two terms
in office. With the end of his second term
looming in April 2007, Ibori was worried
the EFCC were planning to prosecute him,
Ribadu said.
“He was very desperate to terminate the
investigation,” he told the court.
In late April 2007, a meeting was
arranged between the two men at a
“neutral place”, the house of Andy Uba, a
close associate of former President
Olusegun Obasanjo.
Ibori arrived at the house with several
members of his staff and a very large
black sack containing $15 million in cash.
Ribadu said he watched as two of Ibori’s
men lifted the heavy sack and handed it
over to his own EFCC staff. “It was a bag
that an individual could not carry alone,”
he said.
The EFCC men drove the bag to the
central bank where the money was
counted and boxed into smaller
containers. The court was shown
photographs of the boxes of cash.
“I have given you money Nuhu, just give
me my clearance,” Ribadu quoted Ibori as
telling him after those events.
Instead, the EFCC continued to
investigate Ibori’s affairs and had him
arrested on corruption charges on
December 12, 2007.
It will be recalled that the Delta state
government had approached the court
asking that the money belonged to the
state government and should therefore
be returned to the state. The EFCC are
however opposed to the return of the
money to the state.
The EFCC says that “that the said sum of
$15 Million cannot be traced to any
account owned or being operated by the
Delta State Government or any of its
agencies and officials”.
Source: Channels TV