Former governor of Delta State in Nigeria,James Onanefe Ibori has been sentenced to 13 years in prison for money laundering.
Delivering judgement at Southwark Crown Court in London today, the Trial Judge, Mr Pitts said he "recognizes that there is another side to the man James Ibori but he is not the proper person to judge Ibori’s achievements and failings as a governor, rather it is the duty of the people of Delta State"
The jugde said that if Ibori had fought the case, he would be looking at 24 years but will get a discount for pleading guilty. He then sentenced him to 13 years in prison.
The Judge deducted 645 days already spent in jail, and says Ibori would serve the rest in British jail. That means Mr. Ibori will be in prison for at least 7 years.
Jame Ibori who was formerly a DIY store cashier became governor of an oil-rich Nigerian State between May 1999 and May 2007. He admitted 10 counts of conspiracy to defraud and money laundering during his trial which lasted for nearly one year.
Southwark Crown Court was told the amount he stole from the people of Delta State was "unquantified".
Ibori, who evaded capture in Nigeria after a mob of supporters attacked police, was arrested in Dubai in 2010.
He was extradited to the UK, where he was prosecuted based on evidence from the Metropolitan Police, who estimated he stole $250m (£160m) from State coffers.
One of the counts Ibori admitted related to a $37m (£23m) fraud pertaining to the sale of Delta State's share in Nigerian privatized phone company V Mobile.
Sasha Wass, QC, prosecuting, told the court that Ibori "deliberately and systematically" defrauded the people he was elected to represent.
The court heard he came to the UK in the 1980s and worked as a cashier at a Wickes DIY store in Neasden, north west London.
He was convicted in 1991 of stealing from the store but then returned to Nigeria and began his climb up the People's Democratic Party (PDP) network.
The Judge says that sentencing Ibori will not be the end of the matter as his property will be confiscated, and there will be serious consequences if that process runs into problems.
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