James Ibori

Former Delta State Governor, Chief James Ibori, who is serving a jail term in London will today return to the Southwark Crown Court for the confiscation of his assets.

Both the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and Ibori’s defence team would finalise arrangements to confiscate the £50 million assets for which he received a 13-year jail term at the same court in April.

The former governor had earlier requested to be present in court in May when the confiscation hearing was listed for mention, but the judge, who jailed him, declined, saying it was not necessary.

Two sources at the Crown Court confirmed that the former governor would be present for the hearing.

“It is in Court 5, at 10.am and he will be coming,” one of the sources said, when asked if Ibori would be there with his legal team.
Asked in which prison the former governor would be coming from, another court staff said she had no idea, but that Ibori was presently not at Wandsworth Prison, where he spent the early days of his conviction.

“I don’t really know where he is, as the system has not been updated,” she responded.

And on who would be on Ibori’s defence team when state prosecutors make their case to strip him of his ill-gotten wealth, another court staff said: “we don’t know who is representing him, but the prosecutor is the CPS.”