THERESA OBORI:Hell Hath no fury like a woman scorned!

It was a dramatic and highly emotional day at a court in London as Theresa Nkoyo Ibori, the estranged wife of former Governor James Onanefe Ibori of Delta State, took him to the cleaners in her first day on the witness stand at her trial alongside Ibori's London lawyer, Bhadresh Gohil.


Mrs. Ibori was brought before Judge Rivlin at 10.30 a.m. at the Southwark Crown Court in London. Looking subdued, the former Delta State First Lady was called to the witness stand to testify on seven counts of money-laundering preferred against her and Mr. Gohil, Ibori's UK-based lawyer.

After swearing on the Holy Bible, Mrs. Ibori gave her personal information and background information before she was grilled on the source of her husband’s wealth. She repeated the often mouthed answer that Ibori got wealthy long before he became governor of Delta state. She claimed that her husband’s wealth came from contracts and consultancy jobs he did in Lagos State and for the late General Sani Abacha regime.

As the proceedings continued, however, Mrs. Ibori testified that she had been married to a man of many secrets, stating that she knew absolutely nothing about her husband’s secrets until the money-laundering trial began in London. She said she knew of some of her husband’s past legal troubles, but also testified that she did not know about some of his alleged crimes until her own prosecution began.

Prosecutors asked questions regarding her relationship with Mr. Ibori’s, focusing on his numerous extra-marital affairs with several “big girls” in Nigeria.

She told the court that it was not until 2003 that she decided she had had enough and left the marriage. She stated that she returned to Nigeria in 2004 to attend Mr. Ibori’s mother’s funeral. At the funeral, she said she received "a big blow” when an unknown young-faced lady came over and knelt to greet her. It was then that Ibori’s uncle disclosed the big secret that “the lady before you is Uju (referring to Uju Ononiba) who had given birth to Ibori’s heir,” a male child.

After she gave this account, Mrs. Ibori broke down in the witness box, sobbed and mopped tears from her face. The court took a 45-minute break to enable her to get herself together.

When the session resumed, prosecutors questioned her about the purchase of their £2.2 million family home in Hampstead, London, as well as other properties she and her husband had acquired using the names of companies Ibori had bought. She responded that the real estate transactions were “for tax benefits

http://www.saharareporters.com/