COUNSEL to Chief James Onanefe Ibori, yesterday, said there might be no fair trial in the confiscation hearing of James Ibori due to start in June at a Southwark Crown Court in London.

According to a press statement signed by Ibori’s Media Assistant, Tony Eluemunor, Ibori’s lawyer said this during yesterday’s preliminary hearing preparatory to the confiscation trial against Ibori due to start in June.

The lawyer, Mr. Ivan Krolic, said there were established cases of corruption against the police and the crown prosecution counsel who investigated Ibori. This, he said, had led to dropping every member of entire Police and Crown and prosecution teams that investigated Ibori and his associates.

Mr. Krolic notified the court that following the revelation that Policemen involved in investigating Ibori for money laundering were themselves involved in corruption and were knowingly covered up by the Crown Prosecution, the integrity of the entire process had been put in doubt.

He said: “There are cases of abuse of process against the crown prosecution to deliberately manipulate the process to gain undue advantage and inflate the confiscation figure which will require a stay of proceeding in this case to allow for the abuse of process to be dealt with.”

Serious  allegations

The trial Judge, His Honour Tomlinson, acknowledging the precarious situation of Ibori case, especially the serious allegations of police corruption, which had led the Police authority itself to acknowledge the corruption charges, said this  informed the reason to set up a review of the process and corruption allegations against its officers.

The judge noted:  “There are a lot of perceptions and it is inevitable that the team involved in the investigation and prosecution be changed following these allegations”.

Putting the Judge on notice, should the confiscation trial begin as scheduled, while the application for crown and police abuse of process is held, Mr Krolic said:  “Our argument is that the whole process is infected and it will be wrong for the confiscation hearing to continue. “The allegation is that the Crown consistently and deliberately manipulated the system and forced James Ibori to plead guilty and inflate the figures (of the money involved), in the light of the serious allegation of police corruption in this case,” he said.

His Honour Tomlinson, replied: “I have an obligation to keep an open mind and keep this under constant review.” He said that having also read the statement of James Ibori’s former Defence Counsel, Mr Nicholas Purnell QC, that the Crown Counsels misled him to cause his client, James Ibori, to plead guilty, there were potentials in the statements.”

He said that notwithstanding, the June start date of the confiscation hearing might hold, though he alerted that “a number of potential hazards to the proceedings have been flagged off”.

Meanwhile, the confiscation hearing is due to start on June 6 at Southwark Crown in London.