Ibori sentenced to 13 years

Former Wickes cashier and governor of Delta state in Nigeria has been sent to jail for 13 years for money laundering and fraud, where he managed to get his hands on £50 million from some of the poorest people in the world. James Ibori was convicted of stealing in 1991 when he let his wife take materials from the store without paying. He then went to Nigeria to work his way up the ladder in the People's Democratic Party and ran for governor. When he ran for governor he lied about his age and date of birth because if it had been discovered that he had a criminal conviction he would not be allowed to run for governor. From the money that he had stolen he bought Ibori bought:

• A house in Hampstead, north London, for £2.2m

• A property in Shaftesbury, Dorset, for £311,000

• A £3.2m mansion in Sandton, near Johannesburg, South Africa

• A fleet of armoured Range Rovers valued at £600,000

• A £120,000 Bentley

• A Mercedes Maybach for 407,000 euros that was shipped direct to his mansion in South Africa

Ibori's loyal servant, and London lawyer, Bhadrash Gohil's house was searched by Met police and they uncovered evidence behind the fire place. Mr Ibori then fled to Dubai where he was arrested on arrival by the Met. The fact that Mr Ibori was trying to buy a jet worth £20 million is rather comical but only adds to the already tarnished reputation he has. Along with Gohil and Ibori, his sister, spouse and mistress were arrested for money laundering.

Preceding Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Dahiru Musdapher quit yesterday, saying that he regretted the slow pace of the investigation and prosecution of cases in Nigeria. He said that his investigation alone of Mr Ibori cost the British taxpayer £14 million. I have heard many people questioning whether it was in the UK's interest in light of this substantial cost to prosecute a man that had committed such little harm to the British people. However, I believe that it is in the public interest to investigate and prosecute this man. 

Although he has committed a small offence in Wickes some 20 years ago, he has robbed innocent people in Nigeria of their hard earned money whilst he has been living life in the fast lane. Having gone to school with one of his children and knowing their plans for the future, those plans will most likely be no more because of this. So not only has Mr Ibori stolen from millions of people in Nigeria, he has also robbed his children of their futures by providing them with a corrupted name and stolen money that he no longer has any rights to. He now doesn't have a penny to his name and will be leaving his children with nothing in the future all for the risk of gaining everything.