FG, Delta draw battle line on Ibori’s $15m bribe money; to argue suit July 5

Justice Gabriel Kolawole has set July 10 for the Federal and Delta State Governments to argue the case involving $15 million recovered from convicted former Governor of Delta State, Chief James Ibori. At a resumed sitting of the court, Justice Kolawole adjourned the case for hearing for the claimant, Delta State, to make its case for the money.

The said money was said to have been offered as bribe by Ibori in 2007, to the former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Nuhu Ribadu, to quash probe into fraud allegations against him. But the Federal Government, on July 24, 2012, obtained an interim order that the money be forfeited to it, till any one with legitimate claim comes forward to show evidence of such to the court.

However, in an application filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja, the Delta State Government claimed that the money rightly and legitimately belonged to it and that the court should order its return to its treasury. The affidavit averred that any money, asset or property recovered from Ibori rightly belonged to Delta State and that it should be returned to it.

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