The United Kingdom is to repatriate to Nigeria £4.2 million recovered from friends, associates, and family members of former Delta State Governor, James Ibori.
Ibori was convicted in the UK for money laundering and jailed.
On 27 February 2012, he was accused of stealing US$250 million from the Nigerian public purse, Ibori pleaded guilty to ten counts of money laundering and conspiracy to defraud at Southwark Crown Court, London.
But on Tuesday, Ms. Catriona Laing, British High Commission to Nigeria, said the money would be returned to Nigeria in batches and that £4.2 million would be returned to Nigeria in the first batch.
Laing spoke at a ceremony for the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between both countries in Abuja.
She disclosed that the £4.2 million were recovered from Ibori’s friends, associates and family members.
According to her the case of Ibori was complicated, saying that the UK government was still working on it to ascertain how much was really involved.
She said with time, more funds stolen by Ibori would be repatriated to Nigeria.
The Nation reports that Nigeria’s Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, signed for the country.
Malami said President Muhammadu Buhari has directed that the returned loots be deployed to completion of the second Niger Bridge, the Lagos to Ibadan express way and the Abuja to Kano express way projects.
