James Ibori, former governor of Delta state, has been jailed for 13 years for fraud totalling nearly £50m (12.5 billion Naira ).
He was sentenced by a a Southwark Crown Court in London . This brings to an end years of probes both in London and Nigeria, where the ex-governor once held great political sway.
According to the Associated press, James Ibori had admitted in February to fraud and money-laundering involving sums of approximately 50 million pounds (12.5billion). He was accused of stealing $250 million from the public purse and funneling much of the stolen funds to banks in England to fund a lavish lifestyle of private jets and luxury cars.
Ibori, who evaded capture in Nigeria after a mob of supporters attacked police, was arrested in Dubai in 2010. He was extradited to the UK, where he was prosecuted based on evidence from the Metropolitan Police.
One of the counts Ibori admitted related to a $37m (£23m) fraud pertaining to the sale of Delta State's share in Nigerian privatised phone company company V Mobile. According to QC Sasha Wass, prosecuting, told the court Ibori "deliberately and systematically" defrauded the people he was elected to represent.
He was governor of Delta State between May 1999 and May 2007.
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