Ribadu made the mind-boggling revelations when he testified about his involvement in the investigation of Mr. James Ibori who is serving a 13-year jail sentence in the UK.
In his gripping testimony, Ribadu detailed how Ibori gave him $19million bribe to drop the case against him. He said Ibori brought the bribe in large sacks of cash to the Abuja home of Andy Uba.
Ribadu told the UK court that he took possession of the cash produced by Mr. Ibori, and then deposited it at the Central Bank of Nigeria as evidence. He added that the rogue former governor, believing that he had accepted the bribe, kept bugging him to provide him with a letter declaring him free of corruption.
For the first time ever, the former EFCC boss also produced photos of the sacks of cash given to him by the former governor.
Mr. Ribadu told the court that EFCC investigations established that Mr. Ibori must have stolen at least $500 million, representing 50% of the revenue that accrued to the state in the eight years that the former governor was in charge of Delta State.
He further told the British court that EFCC operatives arrested Ibori after a dramatic chase on the streets of Abuja, Nigeria’s capital.
Mr. Ribadu also gave a fascinating account of how he was summarily removed from office five days after he arrested Ibori in Abuja. He also told the court about attempts made on his life by people linked to the former governor as well as the then Inspector General of Police, Mike Okiro, who is the current chairman of the Police Service Commission – even though he did not mention Mr. Okiro by name.
He disclosed that Ibori was the most powerful influence on the government of late Nigerian president, Umaru Yar’Adua.
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