Court Remands James Ibori in Prison Till 2012

These are certainly not the best of times for former executive governor of Delta State, James Onanefe Ibori, as a London court today (Tuesday) remanded him in prison custody until February 13, 2012, when his trial will commence.

I gathered that his legal team intends to get the case quashed in the resumed hearing next year, on the grounds that he has been cleared before by a court in Nigeria. But this may be a difficult path because, according to a source, the case file against him is somewhat water-tight and it would take a lot of legal fireworks to defeat same.

It would be recalled that James Ibori, who was extradited to the UK from Dubai in April, is facing a 14-count charge of fraud and money laundering.