I Am Not A Thief — James Ibori

James Ibori

Former Governor of Delta State, James Ibori, who was released from jail in England last December after serving term for money laundering has said that he was wrongly accused and convicted for an offence he didn’t do.

He made the statement on Sunday during a thanksgiving service in his honour at his home town in Oghara, Delta state, saying, “I am not a thief; I cannot be a thief.”

Ibori who according to reports, was convicted of credit card fraud in the U.K in his younger days, before returning to Nigeria to take part in politics, said the biggest pain he felt over his travails was the suffering his people went through because of his absence but expressed happiness that he came back alive to his people.

The ex-governor, who hailed the crowd of politicians, clergy, traditional rulers and other enthusiasts, said he was aware those behind his travails wanted to separate him from his people.

He said: “They want me to go to the corner where I won’t be seen.”

The former governor said he was sure he would return home because he put his affairs in God’s hands.

“Today, I have decided to speak for myself. I am not a thief; I cannot be a thief. Today is the day they say I should give testimony to God. For those who know me, you know that my life is a testimony itself. I have said it over and again that my life is fashioned by God, directed by God, sealed, acknowledged and blessed by God. I believe that since the day I was born.

“Like the Archbishop said, when this whole commotion started, what was most painful to me was the pain and suffering that my people were going through.

“It has nothing to do with me as a person because, for some reasons, like I said to you, I drew my strength from God. So, somehow, I knew that God would stand by me. I knew that one day, this day would come. I am indeed very pleased that I can now stand before you and look at your faces, the faces that I have missed, and those of you who have indeed suffered the pains of my absence. It has nothing to do with me.

“So, when I reflect, it gives me joy that all your prayers, God has answered them, with your support and solidarity with me all through this period. It is indeed not what I can begin to say.

“Like what our former Chief of Staff, Francis , said it is ‘ungbikuable’. If I am to give testimony of my journey, you will not leave here. The only testimony that I have is the fact that I am back and alive in your midst. And again, I say that I never had any doubt in my mind that I would get back home.

“When I looked at how things were going, I discovered that they wanted to separate me from you, my people. They wanted me to go to the corner where I wouldn’t be seen. That’s how I see it. At a point, I called my older brother (former Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan): ‘How to get home is what I am about to do now’. It was a pragmatic decision.

Source: Information Nigeria