James Ibori, former Delta State governor has been awarded £1 (approx. ₦480) by UK courts for false imprisonment and breach of his human rights.
Ibori, 57, was due to be released from prison on 20th of December 2016 following a deal brokered with the Home Office. However, in an attempt to bypass the deal and recover at least ‘£57 million’, the Home Office – headed by Home Secretary Amber Rudd – detained him in an immigration camp to ‘buy some time’.
On 21st December, a High Court judge ordered his immediate release with electronic tagging and strict curfew requests thrown out the window.
Ibori left the UK on 3rd February, but not before launching a £4,000 claim against the Home Secretary and Office.
On Monday 22nd May, Honorable Justice Cheema-Grubb agreed that the Home Secretary misused her powers for unlawfully detaining Mr. Ibori for more than 18 hours.
However, she disagreed that the damage was worth £4,000, instead awarding £1 in”nominal damages” – an award in which thought wronged did not suffer any substantial injury or loss.
Ibori served 4 out of 13 years in Her Majesty’s Prisons in Worcestershire and Bedford for money laundering in 2012.