4th April, 2011
Former Delta State Governor, James Onanefe Ibori was released from a Dubai prison on Thursday on health ground but he can’t leave Dubai, United Arab Emirate yet.
Though his lawyer confirmed his release from prison, 53-year old Ibori was expected to be extradited to the United Kingdom to face money laundering charges.
According to a Dubai-based newspaper, The National, Ibori has been suffering from chest pains since he was detained in May last year and he had been hospitalised for one month during his trial.
According to his lawyer, Ali Musabah, the court has agreed to Ibori’s unconditional release on humanitarian grounds to allow him receive treatment.
Musabah confirmed that Ibori is now recuperating at his Dubai home after receiving treatment for a chest infection and liver complications.
The lawyer said Ibori could not travel out of Dubai yet because of his poor health.
He added that even where his health improves, the former Delta State governor cannot be extradited yet. “He is currently facing a travel ban issued by a Ras Al Khaimah court regarding a civil case,†Musabah said.
The lawyer stated that the court order arose from a contractual property dispute being heard and that until Ibori paid a property investor as ordered by the court, the ban will remain in force.
Meanwhile, there was wild jubilation by the Urhobo Youth Leaders Association, UYLA which represents Ibori’s clan. In his home town, Oghara, the group celebrated the court pronouncement with grandeur.
They said they will make case for Ibori’s return to Nigeria.
Ibori was governor of Delta State from 1999 till 2007. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, tried to arrest and charge him with fraud and money laundering but he escaped to Dubai where the long arm of the law caught up with him.
He was alleged to have stolen money from the state treasury and he used some of his aides to launder it in the U.K. Those aides have since been jailed by U.K. law courts.