The United Kingdom’s Crown Prosecution Service on Friday said it would continue with the trial of Ms Udoamaka Onuigbo, Mrs Christine Ibori-Ibibe and Mrs Adebimpe Pogoson, all three former associates of former Delta State Governor, Chief James Ibori. The CPS, in a reaction to Thursday’s quashing of the 170-count charge against the former governor by the Federal High Court, Asaba, said a final decision
on the three women, currently being tried for money laundering and other offences at the Southwark Crown Court, London would be determined judicially.
They are being tried on eight counts of money laundering and conspiracy with the erstwhile governor to defraud the people of Delta State.
In response to enquiries from our correspondent about the status of the London case, in the light of the Asaba court’s verdict, a CPS official, Mr. Tim McAtackney, said, “The CPS is aware of the decision announced in the court in Nigeria. It will be considered when a written judgment is available.
The proceedings at Southwark Crown Court are continuing.”
In a statement on Friday, the EFCC spokesman, Femi Babafemi, said that its resolve to file the appeal on Friday (yesterday) was frustrated by the refusal of the court to give its lawyers Certified True Copies of Justice Marcel Awokulehin’s judgment, which quashed the 170-count charges against Ibori.
The EFCC wondered why the court denied its lawyers CTC of the judgment when the trial judge had stated earlier that its judgment was ready weeks ago.
In the statement entitled: Ibori: .what the public needs to know,” the EFCC noted that “In spite of this obvious challenge, our lawyers have been instructed to file a notice of appeal on Monday, December 21 based on the records taken in court.”
Also on Friday, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project criticised the decision of the Asaba Federal High Court to clear Ibori of the 170-count money laundering charge preferred against him by the EFCC.
In a statement issued by SERAP’s Executive Director, Adetokunbo Mumuni, the group said it was “a travesty of justice and let down of the millions of victims of high level official corruption in the country.”