January 23, 2010
Dear Sir: As the leader of Her Majesty’s Government to which Mr Tony Baldry MP belongs, it has become necessary for us to bring to your notice certain actions taken by Hon Baldry to bring to a halt, for selfish reasons, an ongoing judicial matter which directly affects the lives of 150 million Nigerians and indirectly affects the integrity of British life. A few weeks ago, we were alerted to the existence of a five-page letter dated 24 September 2009 written by Hon Tony Baldry, the Conservative MP for Banbury, to the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, the Rt Hon David Milliband MP, and copied to the Attorney-General, the Rt Hon Baroness Scotland QC, the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, the Rt Hon Jack Straw MP, and the Secretary of State for the Home Department, the Rt Hon Alan Johnson MP.In this letter, Hon Baldry apparently sought to persuade these senior Cabinet Ministers of Her Majesty’s Government of the need for the Her Majesty’s Government to discontinue the ongoing prosecution of the associates of the former Governor of Delta State of Nigeria, Chief James Ibori, for various money laundering offences at the Southwark Crown Court purportedly on the grounds that the prosecution is damaging to the interests of her Majesty’s Government.
We understand that the Nigerian Government has refused a request from the Office of the Secretary of State for the Home Department under the terms of the Agreement Between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria concerning the Investigation and Prosecution of Crime and the Confiscation of Proceeds of Crime, 1990 for the extradition of Chief Ibori to the United Kingdom to face charges of serious breaches of the United Kingdom anti-money laundering laws. However, several associates of Chief Ibori, including his wife, sister, and solicitor are presently facing several charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering and money laundering at the Southwark Crown Court.
To put this prosecution in its proper context, it is necessary to repeat the words of Judge Rivlin QC while delivering a ruling in the preparatory hearing for the case at the Southwark Crown Court last year. According to him: “all the money laundering offences ... arise in this way, and here I briefly summarise the Crown’s case. These ... defendants are all closely connected with a man named James Onanefe Ibori (‘Mr James’). Theresa is his wife; Christine is his sister and Adebimpe Pogoson was at the material time his personal assistant/secretary. Mr James has a chequered history. At one time, in the early 1990’s, when living in England and working as a cashier, he and his wife were in debt and also in trouble for minor offences of dishonesty; but by 1999 he had risen in the world, and in that year he took office as the Governor of Delta State of Nigeria. In that capacity he was required to make asset declarations, which are said to have been false. He was also paid a salary and expenses, which were expected to be his only source of income.”
“Notwithstanding these limitations of his office, which were anti-corruption measures, according to the Crown it was not long before Mr James came into personal possession of very substantial wealth, running into millions of pounds sterling. The main thrust of the case against these defendants is that each of them then assisted him in a major money laundering operation, whereby these monies or at least part of them were paid into various bank accounts in the UK and/or used towards the purchase in this country of a number of properties, and/or to fund the luxurious life-styles of one or more of the defendants.”
“As it happens, very substantial sums of money have already been frozen pursuant to Restraint Proceedings initiated by the Crown in 2007. The prosecution say that virtually all of this money had been dishonestly plundered from the Delta State or in other ways fraudulently obtained by Mr James Ibori.”
We know that Hon Baldry, who was the Chairman of the House of Commons International Development Select Committee from January 2001 to May 2005, has extensive interests in the extractive industries of several emerging economies especially in West Africa. For example, he is the Chairman of Westminster Oil Limited (a British Virgin Islands registered company involved in the development of oil licences and exploration) and the Deputy Chairman of Woburn Energy plc (a UK AIM listed company specialising in oil exploration and recovery). He is also a director of West African Investments Ltd (a company that invests in “infrastructure and natural resource projects in Sierra Leone and elsewhere in West Africa”) and a shareholder in Target Resources plc (a company involved in gold and diamond mining in Sierra Leone). Hon Baldry is also the Chairman of the Advisory Committee of Curve Capital Ventures Ltd (“a sector neutral investment company that predominantly invests in India; China and Africa and advises companies on strategic growth and global expansion”).
We also know that the Honourable MP for Banbury is the head of a London Barristers’ Chambers (Chambers of Tony Baldry MP of 1 Essex Ct, Temple, London EC4Y 9AR) where he practises as a barrister, arbitrator and mediator. We know that on 28 September 2009, four days after he was said to have written the letter to the Foreign Secretary, he registered the following interest in the MPs’ Register of Interests: “Received fee of £22,012.57 from Zaiwalla & Co.(Solicitors to James Ibori), for advising clients. ... Time worked: 16 hours. (Registered 28 September 2009).”
The interests of the British public (which includes an estimated three million Nigerians) and the Nigerian public in the prosecution of Chief Ibori’s associates at the Southwark Crown Court cannot be over-emphasised. We take the view that it will be completely unacceptable for a British Member of Parliament to use the latitude of his good offices (in what appears to be a case of conflict of interests) to undermine this prosecution for less than altruistic ends.
It is our opinion that the actions of Hon Baldry do not conform to the mantra of transparency that you have been preaching since assuming office as the leader of the Government. We cannot see how the trial of people indicted on money laundering charges can be injurious to British national interest; except we discountenance the over 3 million Nigerians who live and work in Britain and could return back to Nigeria if the likes of Chief Ibori and his associates are brought to justice or we affirm that Britain is now a safe haven for criminals because of some business interests of individuals or corporations.
We are unaware that Chief Ibori discovered electricity or computer to earn legally such huge funds, except looting of Delta State treasury which is the issue at stake. This we dare say is tantamount to crime against humanity.
It is pertinent to mention here that we understand that the British Press are barred from reporting the details of this case at this stage but we are constrained to get the Press interested in the interference of Hon Baldry if he does not step back from this matter. We were duly informed that this is not the first time Hon Baldry has seemingly abused his office. He was involved in similar shenanigans with aviation and mining contracts in Sierra Leone not too long ago with his Angel Gate Aviation and Milestone Trading.
It is our firm belief that you are a man of integrity who understands that Britain and indeed the entire civilised world can no longer stand and watch a few corrupt individuals who are well connected politically in their home countries use this country as a refuge for their criminal wealth. We believe that it in the interest of Britain to promote good governance at all costs in Nigeria and elsewhere as the consequence of the current business as usual state in Nigeria does not present a future to the whole of West Africa and indeed the United Kingdom.
In this regard, we expect you not only to request Hon Baldry to forthwith withdraw the letter and publicly dissociate himself from these individuals facing trials in British courts but also to speak out against business interests undermining the well being of all Commonwealth citizens. You may also sound a note of caution to all public officers of Her Majesty’s government who may be thinking of associating themselves in the manner of Hon Baldry.
Yours-in-National-Service,
Alhaji Abdulkadir Balarabe Musa
Chairman
CNPP
OPEN LETTER TO BRITISH PRIMEMINISTER 25/01/10
Rt.Hon Gordon Brown
House of Commons,
London, SW1A 0AA, UK
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