President Bola Tinubu Meets James Ibori, Convicted of Massive Fraud and Jailed in UK, Photos Emerge

President Bola Tinubu Meets James Ibori, Convicted of Massive Fraud and Jailed in UK, Photos Emerge

  • After his meeting with the 'class of '99' governors, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu met separately with James Ibori, a former governor of Delta state
  • Ibori, 63, led Delta state from 1999 to 2007 — the same period Tinubu was governor of Lagos state
  • In 2012, the former Delta governor was sentenced to 13 years in prison in the United Kingdom (UK) for fraud

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FCT, Abuja - President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday, July 12, met privately with former governor of Delta state, James Ibori, in Abuja.

Earlier in the same day, Ibori was part of the ‘Class of ‘99’ governors who met with President Tinubu at the presidential villa, Daily Independent reported.

James Ibori/Bola Tinubu
James Ibori, former Delta governor, visits Tinubu in Abuja. Photo credits: Dafila Rotimi Ayoku-Owolawi
Source: Facebook

President Bola Tinubu meets James Ibori, former Delta governor

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Details of the meeting between President Tinubu and Ibori remain unclear.

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In 2012, Ibori was jailed in the UK for 10 counts of fraud worth a total of nearly £50 million.

According to prosecutors, he stole an estimated $165m from the oil-rich state.

Police in Britain began to take an interest in Ibori in 2005 after they came across a purchase order for a private jet, made through his lawyer in London.

He was arrested in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in 2010 and extradited to the UK.

After his release in 2016, Ibori was immediately placed in immigration detention. He appealed against his conviction, alleging misconduct by British police and prosecutors which he argued tainted the judicial process. He won the case, but was awarded just £1 compensation, BBC reported.

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Before his jail sentence in the UK, when he worked at a Wickes store in Ruislip area of London and married his wife, Theresa, the couple were arrested for stealing from the store in 1990 and fined £300.

A year later Ibori was convicted of handling a stolen credit card and fined £100 before he moved back to Nigeria and got a job as a “policy consultant” for Nigerian leader, Sani Abacha’s government.

“The palliative is coming": President Tinubu meets with class of ‘99 governors, makes fresh promise

Earlier, Legit.ng reported that President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday, July 12, met with state governors elected in 1999, otherwise known as the “Class of ‘99”, at the Council Chamber of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Premium Times reported that the visit was attended by 18 of the 36 governors. Some of them have passed on.

Source: Legit.ng

Authors:
Ridwan Adeola avatar

Ridwan Adeola (Current Affairs Editor) Ridwan Adeola Yusuf is a content creator with more than nine years of experience, He is also a Current Affairs Editor at Legit.ng. He holds a Higher National Diploma in Mass Communication from the Polytechnic Ibadan, Oyo State (2014). Ridwan previously worked at Africa Check, contributing to fact-checking research works within the organisation. He is an active member of the Academic Excellence Initiative (AEI). In March 2024, Ridwan completed the full Google News Initiative Lab workshop and his effort was recognised with a Certificate of Completion. Email: ridwan.adeola@corp.legit.ng.