The Urhobo Progress Union, UPU, has backed the former governor of Delta State, Chief James Ibori, in his appeal at the British Court of Appeal against his 2012 conviction.
The President General of the group, Chief Joe Omene, and the Publicity Secretary, Chief Duncan Eghweree, said the union would give Ibori the necessary support in his quest for justice.
Ibori was jailed for 13 years in 2012 over money laundering related issues in the United Kingdom.
He returned to Nigeria on February 4, six years after he was arrested in Dubai by Interpol operatives.
The group in a statement signed on Friday commended the courage of the former governor over his decision to challenge the processes that led to his conviction, since according to him, they were allegedly full of irregularities and loopholes.
He said, “No right thinking person will lie low with the amount of insult meted at Chief Ibori who is loved by all. It was obvious that some powerful forces wanted him out of the way at all cost.
“We were not surprised that he went through the ‘eye of the needle’ because of his stand on issues particularly the struggle for resource control.
“We believe, however, that we cannot throw away the baby with the bath water, but rather you separate the baby from the water. Chief Ibori is our son and remains our son, no matter what might have happen in the past because he had some misunderstanding with some people. This obviously was the reasons behind certain manipulations that led to his conviction.”
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