Reps To FG: Suspend Disbursement Of £4.2m ‘Ibori Loot’

The House of Representatives has called on the Federal Government to halt its planned disbursement of the £4.2m James Ibori loot recovered from the United Kingdom.

This came after lawmakers from Delta State moved a motion of “urgent public importance” during Wednesday’s plenary, demanding the return of the recovered loot to the state.

They argued that since the funds were looted from the coffers of the Delta State Government, it was only fair to return such to the state.

“The said recovered looted funds belongs to the good people of Delta State and as such ought to be refunded to the coffers of the Delta State Government for developmental purposes,” read part of of the motion.

The British Government had reached an agreement with Nigeria to repatriate the funds recovered from Ibori, a former governor of Delta State.

The Federal Government had said on Tuesday that the recovered loot would be used to fund the ongoing construction of the second Niger Bridge, Abuja-Kano road, and Lagos-Ibadan Express road.

The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, revealed this during his appearance on Channels TV’s ‘Politics Today’ on Tuesday.

“The major consideration relating to who is entitled to a fraction or perhaps the money in its entirety is a function of law and international diplomacy.

“All the processes associated with the recovery were consummated by the federal government and the federal government is, indeed, the victim of crime and not sub-national,” Malami had said.

But during the plenary on Wednesday, the House of Reps resolved to ask the federal government to halt the planned disbursement of the funds while it investigates the circumstances surrounding the recovery of the loot.

The likes of Professor Itse Sagay, Chairman Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC), and Femi Falana, Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), amongst others, had on Tuesday called on the federal government to return the recovered loot to Delta or victims of corruption in the state.