Ibori may be repatriated as Nigeria/UK sign prisoner transfer agreement
Nigeria and the United Kingdom have agreed on the transfer of prisoners between the two countries.
The agreement to the effect has been signed between the two countries in Abuja on Thursday.
Under the agreement, Nigerians who commit crimes in the United Kingdom, and Britons who commit crimes in Nigeria, will be to serve their sentences in their home country, where they can be properly prepared for release into the community in which they would live following their release.
Speaking at the signing ceremony in Abuja, British Justice Minister, Jeremy Wright, said that removing foreign national offenders is a key priority for the British Government, and the Prisoner Transfer Agreement signed with the Nigerian Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Bello Adoke, plays a significant role in supporting the mutual agreement.
Nigeria and the United Kingdom have in place, Prisoner Transfer Arrangements with a number of other countries.
A special joint committee of Nigerian and British officials will oversee the implementation of the agreement, as the first set of prisoners will be transferred under the agreement before the end of 2014.
Speaking on the agreement as it applies to former Governor of Delta State, Mr. James Ibori,
Wright said that the eligibility of former Governor of Delta James Ibori to complete his prison term in Nigeria would be determined by Nigeria and UK governments.
Wright gave the clarification on Thursday in Abuja when he visited the Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs, Prof Viola Onwuliri, shortly before he signed a Prisoners' Transfer Agreement (PTA) between both countries.
Responding to questions from journalists on the fate of high profile Nigerians currently serving in UK jails, including Ibori, under the new agreement, Wright said the consent of a prisoner was not required before repatriation.
He said, 'In relation to individual prisoners, there has to be a good deal of discussion between our two countries about individual prisoners and the agreement of both countries to be secured before individual transfers.
'The compulsory nature of this prisoner transfer agreement is that the prisoners' themselves do not have to choose where they go or not but the respective countries do still have an opportunity to discuss whether a transfer should be made.''
Ibori was sentenced to 13 years jail term by a British court for money laundering and associated crimes in April 2012.
Ibori's wife, sister, mistress and London solicitor are also in a UK jail having been convicted of related crime.
There are 521 Nigerians currently serving jail terms in the UK and only one British national in Nigeria prison.
According to ministry officials, about 60 per cent of Nigerian nationals in UK jails can qualify for the compulsory prison transfer agreement signed by Nigeria's Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, Mohammed Adoke and Wright