Ibori tried to bribe me with $15m -Ribadu
Nuhu Ribadu, former Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) chairman from April 2003 to December 2007, told a London’s Southwark Crown Court on Thursday that James Ibori tried to bribe him with $15 million in cash in 2007 to halt attempts by the anti-graft agency to probe him.
Ibori, the former governor of Delta State from 1999 to 2007, in 2012, pleaded guilty at the Southwark Crown Court to 10 counts of fraud and money-laundering of about $80 million. He was jailed for 13 years.
During the asset confiscation hearing, which began on Monday, prosecutors will present evidence of Ibori’s assets and seek court orders to have them seized.
Describing the bribe attempt to the court, Ribadu said the bag was so heavy that one man alone could not lift it. He said he pretended to take the bribe because he wanted the 
cash as evidence to use against Ibori in a prosecution, but rather than keep the money for himself he had it taken straight to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to be kept safe in a vault. The court was shown photographs of the boxes of cash.
The bribe was allegedly paid at a meeting, which held at the house of Andy Uba. Ribadu said Ibori arrived at the house with several members of his staff and a very large black sack containing $15 million in cash. He said two of Ibori’s men lifted the heavy sack and handed it over to his own EFCC staff.
He added that Ibori was worried the EFCC planned to prosecute him and was desperate to quash the move.
Ribadu further quoted Ibori as saying, “I have given you money Nuhu, just give me my clearance.” The EFCC, however, continued to investigate Ibori’s affairs and had him arrested on corruption charges on December 12, 2007.
The former anti-graft boss also told the court that Ibori stole or wasted over 50 per cent of an estimated $1 billion that flowed from federal government accounts into Delta State coffers in his eight years in power.
