James Ibori: How A thief Nearly became President of Nigeria by Andrew Walker

The story of how James Ibori went from convicted thief in London in the 1990s, to become governor of a wealthy oil-producing Nigerian state and then to a British prison is a remarkable one.
It is the story of a wily political operator, backing the right political horses and shifting allegiances when expedient.
Given slightly different circumstances, according to one observer, it could have seen Ibori in the presidential villa rather than a British jail cell.
Ibori's defence in the face of allegations had always been that he had a successful business career and had made money independent of government.
But in 1991, he was working in a hardware store in the London suburb of Neasden. The prosecution in this trial told a judge he was earning around £15,000 ($24,000) a year.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-17184075 Page 1 of 5
BBC News - James Ibori: How a thief almost became Nigeria's president 2/28/12 9:24 AM
He was caught by his employer allowing his wife to walk through the till he was manning without paying for goods.
They both pleaded guilty at Isleworth Crown Court and were fined.
In 1992, he was convicted for possession of a stolen credit card, which had £1,000 spent on it, and was again fined in a UK court.
'Murky business'
Ibori then returned to Nigeria intending to become a political operator. The country was about to be tipped into a tumultuous period.
Military leader Ibrahim Babangida had scheduled elections to return Nigeria to democracy in June 1993.
Ibori worked for the governorship campaign of a friend.
The experience gave him good connections with the parties that would eventually merge to form the People's Democratic Party, currently ruling Nigeria.
The 1993 elections were cancelled by Mr Babangida. Later that year, Gen Sani Abacha staged a coup, cementing the military's grip on power for another five years.
According to Anthony Goldman, who worked as a journalist in Nigeria for many years and has followed Ibori's career closely, this is when Ibori made his first shift of political master, offering his services to Abacha.
"He had an unspecified role in security," Mr Goldman said. "That could be anything, it was a very murky business."
Abacha was accused of murdering political opponents and ruthlessly crushing dissent and pro-democracy movements.
In the mid-1990s, Ibori was questioned by the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) in the US about how he came into the possession of millions of dollars that he transferred to accounts in the US.
The FBI suspected the money came from advance fee fraud, the infamous Nigerian 419
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-17184075 Page 2 of 5
BBC News - James Ibori: How a thief almost became Nigeria's president 2/28/12 9:24 AM
scam, but he was able to prove the money came from his work with Abacha, Mr Goldman said.
Abacha died in 1998 and Ibori switched horses again, attaching himself to influential northern politician Atiku Abubakar, who went on to become vice-president.
Medically impossible
In 1999, Ibori took out a mortgage on a property in Abbey Road, London. To do that, he got a new passport with a false birth date to mask his previous convictions.
The birth date he chose was in fact medically impossible as it was only a month after his sister's birthday, the prosecution told the court.
Ibori was installed as the governor of the oil-rich Delta State in the 1999 elections.
In order to take office in Nigeria, he had to swear an affidavit that he had no convictions. To do this, he used the same birth date he had made up to acquire his mortgage.
It was this evidence that would, in a London court 14 years later, spell the end for Ibori. Soon after he became governor, Ibori paid off the Abbey Road mortgage in cash.
He went on to buy three other properties in the UK. He paid £2.2 million in cash for a house in the plush London suburb of Hampstead.
Bankrolled election
In 2005 the Metropolitan Police began to take an interest in Ibori after they came across a purchase order for a private jet, made through his solicitor in London.
It was just after this that Ibori shifted horses again, switching his allegiance from Mr Abubakar to the then President Olusegun Obasanjo.
In 2006, President Obasanjo recruited Ibori to help him force through a change in the constitution to allow him to run for a third term as president.
When that plan failed, Ibori promised his allegiance to Mr Obasanjo's anointed successor, Umaru Yar'Adua.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-17184075 Page 3 of 5
BBC News - James Ibori: How a thief almost became Nigeria's president 2/28/12 9:24 AM
At the ruling party's pre-election convention in 2006, Ibori was on hand to lift up the northern governor's hands in a display of victory - hours before delegates from the People's Democratic Party (PDP) voted to select him as their candidate.
Ibori then bankrolled the 2007 Yar'Adua election campaign.
Mr Goldman says he understands Ibori was promised the vice-president's job, in return for his support.
But Mr Yar'Adua, who had been ill for many years, died in office. His Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan succeeded him and remains Nigeria's president.
Despite being a fellow former governor of a neighbouring oil state, Ibori and Mr Jonathan were by now political enemies.
In 2010, President Jonathan set the country's anti-corruption police, the Economic and Financial Crimes commission on him, but their officers were ambushed when they came to arrest him.
Ibori left Nigeria shortly afterwards.
He went to Dubai, whose government arrested him and transferred him to the UK to face trial.
Mr Goldman says had Yar'Adua lived, and made Ibori his vice-president, he would have had a clear run to become president.
"Then Mr Ibori would have met Queen Elizabeth at the state house, instead of serving at her pleasure," Mr Goldman said.

NigComSat-1R: A Technological Breakthrough for the Nigerian Broadcast Industry

Nigerian Communications Satellite (NIGCOMSAT) Limited was incorporated as a limited liability company in April 2006. It is a company under the auspices of the Federal Ministry of Communication Technology.
NIGCOMSAT Limited is responsible for the operation and management of Nigerian Communications Satellites starting with NIGCOMSAT-1 which was launched in May 2007 and de-orbited after 18 months. A replacement satellite, NIGCOMSAT-1R which has the same features but with a few modifications as NIGCOMSAT-1 is scheduled to be launched during the last quarter of 2011. Experts have predicted that if everything goes well for Nigeria, revenues from satellite communication may surpass that of oil with positive impacts on the Nigerian broadcasting media Yemi Olakitan writes.


The latest breakthrough in technological advancements for the Nigerian media is perhaps the announcement by the Nigerian communication Satellite Limited that it would launch NigCcomSat-1R into orbit on December 19th, 2011. This was made known at a pre-launch three-day stakeholders conference and exhibition held at the Sheraton Hotel and Towers, Ikeja, Lagos. This disclosure is good news for the Nigerian broadcasting media as the sector prepares to move from analogue to digitization by 2012. According to experts the satellite when launched into orbits will revolutionize the broadcasting media in Nigeria and contribute immensely to the improvement of broadcasting in the country. The primary market target for Nigcomsat include; Government and private broadcast media Organizations. International broadcast organizations, through local representatives; Independent producers who hitherto, could not afford direct broadcasting channels although the distribution model for the multimedia home platform is the primary responsibility of participating broadcast companies. Stakeholders say, the benefits are innumerable. It includes, a highly competitive media industry, meeting up to international standards.
This was not the first effort by Nigeria in this regard. There was NigComSat-1, which was launched in May 13th, 2007 but was deorbited on November 10, 2008. NigComSat-1 failed in orbit after running out of power due to an anomaly in its solar array. NigcomSat -1R will replace NigconSat-1 which was deorbited after it was successfully launched in 2007. NigComSat-1R was therefore a replacement of the failed satellite. This was in line with the contract that was signed in 2004 by the Federal Government of Nigeria and China Great Wall Industry Corporation which provided all aspects of in-orbit delivery of a satellite to an international customer. This included satellite manufacture, launch services, ground station construction, project financing, insurance and training. This means that insurance companies and the Chinese Corporation are financing this new satellite project. On the 10th of November 2003, the Federal Government of Nigeria at its FEC meeting concluded that the NIGCOMSAT project is a national priority project and a critical ICT infrastructure for; alleviating poverty, bridging the digital divide; cost effective solution to the ICT requirements of the nation and affordable access to information and communication for Nigerians and the African continent. The federal. Government also hope to diversify the revenue base of the country from oil to knowledge and services. All these benefits would accrue to the Nigerian broadcasting media sector as well as other technological based sectors of the economy.
Chief executive Officer of NIGCOMSAT Ltd, Engr. Ahmed Rufai, while addressing stakeholders at the recently concluded prelaunch conference in Lagos said that the project is a very positive step in the right direction. He assured Nigerians that NigComSat- 1R has been fully integrated and every necessary performance test has been carried out on the satellite. He informed participants that the satellite had already been moved to its launch site in central China, from where it would be launched on December 19. The satellite television customers in the country and other parts of Africa are currently getting programming contents through direct To Home (DTH) providers, but explained that the communication satellite, when launched would support players in the Nigerian broadcast industry to aggregate hundreds of channels and deliver same directly to homes across the country. This is expected to create employment in the broadcast media, stimulate entrepreneurship and investments as well as create a robust broadcast media industry for Nigeria.
One of the role of NigComSat-1R, is to foster the growth of broadcasting industry, as it would allow broadcasting media stations concentrate on the provision of quality content in order to realize maximum revenue. The satellite would also act as open door to attract foreign direct investments into Nigeria. The replacement satellite, according to Rufai, is Hybrid satellite, since it would not only offer communications services, but would also provide navigational services for the aviation and maritime industries.
This can only mean that the Nigerian broadcast media would be entering into the league of technologically advanced broadcast media. This development holds many benefits for the Nigerian media. The implications, according to experts are all beneficial to the media industry, although commercial satellite usage is not limited to the broadcast media alone. It is evident, however, that the Nigerian media would enjoy many benefits from the launch of NigComSat-1R by December.
Vice President of China Great Wall industry corporation (CGWIC) builders of NigComSat-1R, Mr. He Xing, also confirmed the readiness of NigComSat-1R for the December 19 launch, and explained that the replacement satellite would be launched on the DH-4 platform of CGWTC. Nigerian engineers that have undergone intensive training in China in recent times would carry out the ground control of the satellite in Nigeria. He said that CGWIC has provided training for over 60 Nigerians Engineers sent by the management of NiGcomSat-1R and they are capable of controlling the satellite from the ground station in Nigeria and providing services to Nigerians and Africa. With over 50 years in the practice of space technology and with the successful launch of several satellite from China by CGWIC, a successful launch of NigComSat-1R on December 19 is expected.
Director General of Nigeria Broadcasting Commission, Mr, Yomi Bolarinwa, was emphatic in his submission that Nigcomsat-1R will boost broadcasting in Nigeria.
According to hum, The Nigcomsat dth is designed to offer Viewers one hundred channels of SD television programming on a pay as you go and free to air service delivery model. This system can easily be upgraded to accommodate hd channels if any broadcast organization is interested in the transmission of hd channels.
In chat with independent Television Producer, Akeem Bayowa, he was of the opinion that the development would change the face of Nigerian broadcasting. He said, such a project would improve the quality of broadcasting media in Nigeria and ensure high level competition amongst operators which would further lead to an increase in the quality of service delivery which he said would be healthy for the Nigerian broadcast environment. Bayowa however said that government owned television media such as NTA and LTV should brazen up to the demands of modern broadcasting, so that they would not be left behind. He said that local standards would soon become a thing of the past and international broadcasting practice would take pre-eminence as result of advanced technology.
Experts say, the system for direct to home distribution will also be used as a platform to deliver backhaul services for terrestrial dtt transmissions after the 2012 analogue to digital migration. In addition, these infrastructures shall also enable participating broadcasters to have uplink satellite capacity on demand without huge investments in reserved satellite capacity. The signal flow for the system includes acquisition of broadcaster content, compression of received signals, multiplexing of all signals and the modulation of the signals before re-transmission to home users.. The content providers or aggregators are required to install appropriate uplink infrastructure from remote uplink sites. NigComSat-1R, General Manager, Technical for NIGCOMSAT, Abdulraheem Adajah said NigComSat-1R comes with a minimum lifespan of 15 years and a maximum lifespan of 15 years plus. It has payloads of 7 antennae and 26 transponders to address redundancy and it operates under four different bands: C, Ku, KA and the I bands.