Ibori changes legal team, absent in court

CONVICTED former Delta State Governor,  James Ibori, has changed his legal team by dropping Jonathan Akinsanya and co,  and was absent in court yesterday.

Ibori, who shocked both his defence team and the Crown Prosecutors by opting to stay back in his prison cell in Worchestershire, was given permission to appeal his 13-year jail sentence, the Southwark Crown Court heard, when his case was brought before Judge Anthony Pitts at Courtroom 5 at 10.20 a.m. yesterday.

“He’s not coming today. We’ve just confirmed that,” the court manager told his defence team as they filed in behind the lead counsel, Ivan Krolick, minutes before the hearing began. As if on cue, Krolick responded, “I don’t know why,” my client isn’t here.”

But a few seconds after Pitts had taken his seat for the case to begin, Sasha Wass, leading the representation for the Crown Prosecution Service,(CPS), was on her feet, opening proceedings and telling the court that Ibori was  not in court , despite his presence being needed.

As Wass took a glance at the Judge and seemed to be wondering why the defendant flouted the court order, Pitts quickly responded, saying, “He’s now in Long Lartin, it was felt he did not wish to come” and  “he signed a form,” to that effect.  Krolick added: “He was indicating he did not wish to come.”

Wass, took off from there, telling the court that his absence actually has no bearing to the day’s agenda and that: “The bottom line is we can go ahead without him.”

After receiving an acknowledgement from Pitts that she was in order, she told the Court that since Ibori was jailed in April, there had been “three  developments which may or may not affect the progress of this hearing.”

One of such developments is that Ibori’s partner in crime, Bhadresh Gohil - who is also serving term in jail – “wish to appeal.”

The convicted lawyer is not just heading for the Appeal Court, he’s actually going “to be making serious allegations against Ibori’s family,” she  noted.

The second development is equally revealing and one which may see Ibori becoming a free man sooner than his remaining four-year jail term.

Wass told the court: “Mr Ibori has been given leave to appeal the sentence, not the conviction, though.”

In other words, he wants the jail-term reduced.  Krolick followed on later, stating that he is not the one to represent Ibori for the appeal, which will be heard at a yet to be confirmed date at the Royal Courts of Justice.

The third development Wass told the Court about was that Ibori was not co-operating with the prosecutors and that they need more time to investigate him and also get him to admit owning two properties in the United States, (U.S.) which are worth millions of dollars.

Ibori, the Judge and Wass agreed, had been “less than frank in respect of his means.”

As soon as Wass finished arguing for the CPS to be permitted to further investigate the jailed governor, Krolick fought back with a counter argument and stated that his client and his family had  been through a lot of investigation since 2005, when the case began.

“There are matters relating to members of his –Ibori – family. There can’t be a case where they need further investigation.”  Krolick went on in his attempt to prevent the CPS having permission to do more investigation by pointing to the Prosecutors’ failure to make a formal request for this.

“It’s not been put before your Honour,” he said.

Wass subsequently acknowledged this and promised to put the request forward.

Even with that, Pitts noted that the CPS  may still face an uphill task trying to ascertain the full extent of his assets, which he said, are “scattered  elsewhere  in the  world.” Few of Ibori’s assets are in the UK, he added.  Pitts said: “This case of Ibori has been a complicated case due to members of his family being tried by another Judge,” and it’s worth mentioning that  “most of his  assets are scattered elsewhere in the world, only a few in the UK.”

Speaking further in advancing the CPS case for more time to investigate Ibori before the hearing, Wass said: “Mr Ibori’s ‘means’ is still unsigned” and the “CPS believes he’s got substantial assets in the U.S. and it requires further investigation.” That investigation  “will take time,” she added.

Expressing perhaps his frustration at Ibori’s unwillingness co-operate with prosecutors, Pitts said: “The most important thing to me is to set a realistic date for the confiscation hearing. “However I doubt if that will even be heard.”   After reiterating that the former governor had been “less than frank” about his assets, Pitts turned to Wass, asking her: “ do you have a date?”  To which she replied, “we have June 2013.”