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.
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
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