Ibori Loses Appeal to Get Jail Term Reduced

 The former Delta State Governor, James Ibori, Thursday lost an appeal before a London court for a reduction in his jail term following his conviction for money laundering-related offences.

Justice Anthony Pitts of the Southwark Crown Court had sentenced Ibori last year to a 13-year jail term, after he had pleaded guilty to charges that he embezzled £50 million during his eight-year tenure as governor of the oil-rich state.

Ibori’s legal team had based its argument for a reduction in his 13-year jail term sentence on some purported promise by Justice Pitts that he could sentence Ibori to a jail term of not more than 10 years if he pleaded guilty to the charges filed against him.

However, the Court of Appeal dismissed the argument, saying the promise was not emphatic enough to support the plea.

There was a mild drama in the case as a team of the Court of Appeal justices previously empanelled to hear the appeal was changed at the last minute.

The justices, led by Lord Justice Brian Henry Leveson, who were previously scheduled to hear the appeal were replaced on Wednesday by a new panel of justices, which presided over the case yesterday. Thisday