British Court Mocks’ Ex Governor Ibori With N400 Compensation

A high court in London has awarded James Ibori, former Delta state governor, a nominal £1 (about N400) as damages over his claim of unlawful detention by Amber Rudd, British home secretary.

The judge, Cheema-Grubb, agreed that between December 20 and 21 last year, Ibori, who spent years in UK jail for money laundering, was unlawfully held for one day, 18 hours and 10 minutes.

She, however, ruled, in a way that mocked Ibori’s claim, that he is only entitled to a nominal £1 of the sum.

Ibori had claimed £4,000 in damages.

She said the home secretary “failed to have regard to her limits to detain” as attempts were made to claw back millions from him.

But in rejecting Ibori’s bid for thousands in compensation, the judge ruled: “There is no compensatory loss to Mr Ibori and I fix nominal damages at £1.”