Chief James Onanefe Ibori, has filed a full appeal in the British Court of Appeal against his 2012 conviction.
According to a statement from the former Delta State governor’s media assistant, Tony Eluemunor, Mr Ibori’s counsel informed the Southwark London court on onMarch 17th, 2017 that they have filed the appeal on Ibori’s behalf.
According to the statement, the court court adjourned indefinitely the on-going proceedings concerning the second confiscation hearing. The original three- week confiscation hearing before Judge Pitts in September 2013 was unable to make any finding of theft from the Delta State.
Eluemunor said the British Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has, since February 2016 been undertaking a mammoth disclosure exercise and so far substantial material evidencing the police corruption and misconduct has been disclosed.
David Rose of the London Mail, as well as other reporters have made applications in open court for the release of this material. Mr. Rose, for instance, argued it is in the public interest to do so, as the Ibori and linked cases are said to have been corrupted by Metropolitan Police corruption, prosecution misconduct and significant non-disclosure of key material which undermines the convictions.
For instance, a BBC report of July 2, 2016, titled “Ibori lawyer awarded £20,000 by Crown Prosecution Service” mentioned police and prosecution’s misbehavior as well as their massive misleading of the courts.