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How Ibori Gave me $15m Cash Bribe, Ribadu Tells UK Court
Malam Nuhu Ribadu, former chairman, Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), on Thursday told the British court hearing the ongoing asset confiscation of James Ibori, convicted former governor of Delta state of how Ibori tried to him (Ribadu) in 2007 with $15 million in cash stuffed in a bag so heavy one man alone could not lift it.
Ribadu, who was chairman of EFCC from April 2003 to December 2007, gave evidence at a confiscation hearing in which prosecutors are seeking court orders to have Ibori’s assets seized.
He told a London court he pretended to take the bribe because he wanted the cash as evidence to use against Ibori in a prosecution, but rather than keep the money for himself, he had it taken straight to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)to be kept safe in a vault.
He added that Ibori was so desperate he tried to halt a probe into his finances.
Ribadu told the court that about $1 billion flowed from Federal Government accounts into Delta State’s coffers during Ibori’s eight years in power, and he estimated Ibori had stolen or wasted more than half of that amount.
Under Nigeria’s constitution, state governors enjoy immunity from prosecution but are limited to two terms in office. With the end of his second term looming in April 2007, Ibori was worried the EFCC were planning to prosecute him, Ribadu said.
In late April 2007, a meeting was arranged between the two men at a “neutral place”, the house of Andy Uba, a close associate of former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
Ibori arrived at the house with several members of his staff and a very large black sack containing $15 million in cash. Ribadu said he watched as two of Ibori’s men lifted the heavy sack and handed it over to his own EFCC staff. “It was a bag that an individual could not carry alone,” he said.
The EFCC men drove the bag to the Central Bank where the money was counted and boxed into smaller containers. The court was shown photographs of the boxes of cash.
“I have given you money Nuhu, just give me my clearance,” Ribadu quoted Ibori as telling him after those events.
Instead, the EFCC continued to investigate Ibori’s affairs and had him arrested on corruption charges on December 12, 2007.
But Ribadu said the climate had changed since Obasanjo had stepped down and President Umaru Yar’Adua had been sworn in. Ribadu said Ibori was close to Yar’Adua, and then attorney general, Michael Aondoakaa, sought to neuter the EFCC.
On December 27, just 15 days after Ibori’s arrest, Ribadu was sacked as chairman of the EFCC. Efforts to prosecute Ibori in Nigeria foundered, and he was eventually prosecuted in Britain because he had laundered some of his millions there.
After his removal as EFCC chairman, Ribadu told the court he survived two separate assassination attempts, including one during which three shots were fired at his car.
After the second attempt, he fled Nigeria by what he described as the “bush path”, first by motorcycle taxi across the border to Benin, then by an Air France flight to Paris and then to Britain where he was given refuge at an Oxford college.
Ribadu remained in exile until after the death of Yar’Adua in May 2010. He told the court that under President Goodluck Jonathan, the climate changed again and he returned home.
It was also that year that Ibori’s luck turned. He was arrested in Dubai on a British warrant and extradited to London a year later. He is now serving his term at Long Lartin maximum security prison in central England.
The charges to which Ibori pleaded guilty amount to the theft of about $80 million, but British prosecutors said that was only part of his total loot, which was kept hidden via a complex web of shell companies, offshore accounts and front men.
Oladipupo Adebutu, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in Ogun State, has alleged that all state governors in Nigeria are benefiting from and misappropriating local government allocations.
Oladipupo Adebutu
Adebutu made the remarks at the Ake Palace in Abeokuta during a meeting with the Egba Traditional Council, where he sought the support and blessings of traditional rulers for his governorship ambition.
He was accompanied by his running mate, Lateefat Sowunmi-Kolapo; the PDP senatorial candidate for Ogun Central, Iyabo Obasanjo; the Ogun State PDP Chairman, Abayomi Tella; and other party leaders and candidates.
Addressing the traditional rulers, Adebutu declared that granting full financial autonomy to local governments would be one of the defining policies of his administration.
“I will do something that will stun this nation and put us in the right direction. Local governments shall get their own money,” he said.
He added: “We must make sure we get local government autonomy. I have been reiterating to you that I, Oladipupo Olatunde, son of Adebutu, was at the National Assembly twice, and I can boast that I didn’t embezzle public funds. How many politicians can say this?”
Adebutu accused governors across party lines of diverting local government funds.
“It’s not a party thing. Both APC and PDP, all the governors are embezzling local government allocations. It’s not a secret,” he said.
He argued that local councils were able to deliver more development when they had greater control over their finances.
On infrastructure financing, Adebutu said governments must adopt new approaches rather than relying on borrowing.
“You don’t borrow money for infrastructure anymore,” he said, while promising to construct roads that would improve connectivity between Ogun State and Lagos.
In his remarks, Abayomi Tella, State Chairman of the PDP, lamented that the local government system in the state is in a state of collapse, recalling that as a former council chairman, he received N200 million as an allocation and used it to construct four roads within his local government.
He expressed concern that the current local government chairmen cannot point to any project of similar impact, attributing the situation to a lack of financial autonomy.
The PDP chairman said he strongly believes in Adebutu’s advocacy for local government autonomy, stressing that Adebutu is prepared and ready to lead the development of Ogun State.
Sowunmi-Kolapo, deputy governorship candidate, called on her kinsmen to support her political aspiration, noting that she has continued to support the development of Egbaland.
Also speaking, Iyabo Obasanjo, PDP candidate for Ogun Central Senatorial District, said that after leaving the APC following her unsuccessful governorship bid, she came to believe that Adebutu has the vision and political will to actualise her aspirations and manifesto for the people.
Obasanjo further noted that no political party has a more formidable team in Egbaland than the PDP, urging Egba monarchs to throw their weight behind the party in the interest of the people.
In his welcome address, the Alake and Paramount Ruler of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Aremu Gbadebo, described Adebutu as “trustworthy and reliable,” declaring his support for the party’s flag bearer ahead of the 2027 governorship election.
The Alake recalled his long-standing relationship with Adebutu’s father and expressed confidence in Adebutu’s character and leadership qualities.
“The son of a lion must resemble the lion. In fact, he is an even better version of his father,” Oba Gbadebo said.
Federal high court in Abuja has ordered the final forfeiture of N941,994,079.86 linked to suspected ghost workers uncovered in the integrated payroll and personnel information system (IPPIS) to the federal government.
IPPIS is a centralised payroll system the federal government introduced to manage the salaries of federal public sector employees.
Binta Nyako, presiding judge, gave the order following an application filed by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
“That an Order is hereby made for the Final Forfeiture to the Federal Republic of Nigeria the Sum of N941,994,079.86 seized during investigation into the IPPIS Payroll scam in the year 2024,” Nyako ruled.
Okor Odey, ICPC spokesperson, announced the forfeiture in a statement issued at the weekend.
The ICPC spokesperson said investigations by the commission uncovered “large-scale payroll fraud involving hundreds of non-existent public servants, with a total sum of N941,994,079.86 traced to accounts linked to the scheme”.
Odey said a review of the IPPIS conducted in 2023 revealed the “existence of numerous “ghost workers” embedded within the payrolls of several Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs)”.
According to him, following the findings, President Bola Tinubu approved a “comprehensive audit” of the IPPIS.
He added that a joint investigation between the ICPC and the office of the accountant-general of the federation in April 2025 led to the discovery of 587 suspected ghost workers on the IPPIS platform.
“Investigations revealed that fictitious IPPIS identities had been created for non-existent personnel across multiple MDAs, with salaries paid over extended periods into accounts belonging to individuals and companies,” Odey said.
“In many cases, the account names did not correspond with those of the purported employees, while some accounts received multiple salary payments simultaneously.”
The ICPC spokesperson said the agency placed post no debit (PND) restrictions on all identified accounts to freeze the funds suspected to be proceeds of fraud.
He said the affected MDAs include the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), federal ministries of defence, education, agriculture and rural development, works, water resources, and interior.
Others are National Board for Arabic and Islamic Studies, University of Benin, University of Calabar, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, University of Maiduguri, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, and the office of the accountant-general of the federation.
The ICPC spokesperson said 120 civil servants were cleared after their identities and employment status were confirmed following a verification exercise in 2025.
He added that 467 bank accounts remain linked to unverified individuals with holders yet to be identified.
He noted that the N941.9 million currently frozen in the 467 bank accounts has been forfeited to the federal government.
He disclosed that the agency published the names of the 910 individuals suspected to have benefited from the purported fraud in two national dailies on March 18, 2026.
The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has introduced the Blue Economy Accelerator Programme, a strategic initiative designed to identify, nurture, and accelerate innovative startups that will contribute to the sustainable growth of Nigeria’s marine and blue economy.
The Blue Economy Accelerator Programme is aimed at attracting young, vibrant minds with innovative ideas capable of transforming Nigeria’s maritime ecosystem.
Dr. Dayo Mobereola, Director-General of NIMASA, said that through the initiative, participants will receive structured business development support, industry mentorship, and technical guidance to convert promising concepts into viable ventures that address critical challenges and opportunities within the blue economy.
“The programme reflects NIMASA’s commitment to supporting the implementation of the vision of the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy in unlocking the immense potential of the blue economy by empowering young innovators, entrepreneurs, and technology-driven enterprises. We at NIMASA want to provide a platform for investors to identify young talents and invest in them”.
Mobereola, who commended the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola for codifying the Marine and Blue Economy Policy as a clear roadmap for the sector’s development, urged young Nigerians to embrace the programme which has the potential to transform raw talents into big investments in the maritime sector.
Applications are open to startups and innovators developing solutions across several strategic sectors, including marine waste management and the blue circular economy; aquaculture and sustainable fisheries; maritime technology and logistics innovation; ocean energy including wave, tidal, and offshore renewable energy; marine tourism and coastal recreation; marine biotechnology such as, ocean data and analytics; green shipping, including vessel decarbonization; smart port solutions; autonomous marine vehicles; biofouling prevention technologies; and coastal resilience through nature-based coastal defencesolutions.
The first phase of the programme is expected to attract a minimum of 150 high-quality applications from within and outside the country provided they are Nigerian citizens.
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