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EXPOSED: How Corrupt Ibori Helped Britain During Abacha Regime
James Ibori, a former governor of Delta, seemed to have played a pivotal role in ensuring the actions of Nigeria’s late dictator Sani Abacha did not have devastating impact on the operations British Airways, a document has shown.
Ibori who was convicted by the British government for pillaging and plundering the resources, worth millions of pounds, of his oil rich impoverished state released a correspondence showing how helped the British Airways from suffering a lengthy ban under Nigeria’s late dictator Sani Abacha.
Ibori on Saturday evening posted on his twitter page a 1998 letter from the British Airways then-head of West African operations Andy Stern. In the letter, Stan expressed his gratitude to Ibori for his intervention after Abacha’s junta grounded all aircraft registered in Britain.
The UK had at the time sanctioned Abacha for stifling freedom in Nigeria, torturing dissents, killing opposition, as well as his failure to hand over power to Moshood Abiola, the widely acclaimed winner of the June 12, 1992 presidential election which was and still adjudged to be most credible and transparent election in Nigeria’s history.
“On behalf of British Airways Plc, I thank you most sincerely for your kind assistance during the period of flight ban on British registered aircraft to Nigeria and your continued support throughout this period,” BA said in the August 24 letter. “We acknowledge the time and effort that you have expended on our behalf and your contribution to the achievement of the restoration of flights is much appreciated.”
The restriction was lifted two months after Abacha died in June 1998. Mr Ibori was considered highly influential during Mr Abacha’s government. He reportedly rode on the back of his relationship with the junta to become Delta governor.
Ibori described the British in his Saturday tweet as “hypocrites,” saying “Politics & Business interest comes first” for them.
The incorrigible treasury looter appeared to be taking a swipe at the UK authorities for convicting him of multi-million pounds fraud despite his so-called role in saving the BA’s business a decade earlier. He was sentenced in April 2012 to 13 years in prison after being found guilty of up to $250 million theft from Delta coffers.
He was released from prison in December 2016 and had since returned to Nigeria. Last week, the UK announced that £4.2 million will be returned to Nigeria as part of Mr Ibori’s loot, a development that has, not only ignited bad blood between the Buhari administration and Delta government, as both lay legal and moral claim to the refund, but has also become a hot subject of public discourse.
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