James Onanefe Ibori

Former Governor of Delta State

Date of Birth: 04/08/1958
Place of Birth: Delta State

Married to Theresa Nkoyo with three daughters 

Education: Oghareki Grammar School; University of Benin.

Career: Mobil Oil Nigeria Limited; Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation; Consultant, public policy, Federal Government, 1994-97; Governor, Delta State, 1999-07.

Commentary: In 2007, Ibori was charged with 103 counts of money laundering and corruption (He bought property worth £5 mn. in Britain, including a London flat for Okoronkwo, a country retreat in Dorset and a £275,000 armoured Maybach-Mercedes limousine, but his salary while in office from 1999-2007 was only £12,000 a year). He came under investigation only when he tried to buy a £10 mn. Challenger jet from Canadian-based Bombardier Inc.Similar charges against him in the United Kingdom were initially dismissed after the Nigerian Attorney General filed a petition for them to be dropped. The federal court in Asaba dismissed 170 charges of corruption against him in December 2009, however, the Dubai Court of Cassation ruled that there were no grounds to block his extradition to the UK in December 2010 and he now faces extradition.