Nigeria dismisses James Ibori money laundering charges

The former governor of Nigeria's oil-rich Delta State has been cleared of 170 charges of corruption - involving the laundering of millions of dollars.

The federal court in Asaba said there was no clear evidence against James Ibori, governor from 1999 to 2007.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which brought the prosecution, described the judgement as hazy and pledged to appeal against it.

Nigeria is frequently cited as one of the world's most corrupt countries.

Correspondents say the government has had to defend itself recently amid growing anger that it is slowing down its anti-corruption drive.

'No stone unturned'

The BBC's Caroline Duffield, in Lagos, says Mr Ibori is one of the most wealthy and well-connected politicians in Nigeria.

She says he is a close personal friend of President Umaru Yar'Adua, and is notorious among Nigerians for becoming extremely wealthy during his time in power.

The EFCC say they have "an enormity" of evidence against him and have promised to "leave no stone unturned" in their efforts to bring a prosecution.

"This kind of judgement, if not challenged, is capable of deepening the menace of corruption in our country," the commission said in a statement.

The EFCC initially brought charges against Mr Ibori in early December 2007.

But the EFCC has been at the centre of a political storm in recent years - dogged by allegations of political bias.

Former EFCC head Nuhu Ribadu was removed from his post just two weeks after the charges were brought against Mr Ibori.

Mr Ribadu was seen as close to Mr Yar'Adua's predecessor Olusegun Obasanjo.

And last week the EFCC arrested senior critics of the government - who accused the commission of working to disrupt their plans to launch an opposition party for the next election.

Wide powers

Meanwhile, the UK authorities have also acted against Mr Ibori.

In 1997 a UK court froze assets allegedly belonging to him worth $35m (£21m). His annual salary was less than $25,000.

He had already left the UK when his assets were seized.

But several of his associates and his wife, Theresa Ibori, are facing trial on related charges in the UK next year.

Mr Ibori is named on legal documents as a co-conspirator in the UK case, which deals with alleged fraud from more than one Nigerian state's coffers.

But no charges have been laid against him.

Under Nigeria's federal system, state governors enjoy wide powers.

Those running oil-rich states have budgets larger than those of some African countries.

They enjoy immunity from prosecution while in power, but several have faced corruption charges since leaving office after the last election in 2007.

Just one former governor has so far been convicted - Edo State's former chief Lucky Igbinedion, who was fined $25,000 for embezzling $21m.
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We tell you why a highly trained neuron surgeon returns to Ghana to practice and opts for Tamale his hometown

In a county where many doctors trained by public funds find it difficult to work in less privileged areas where healthcare facilities are ill equipped, one specialist has defied the odds. 44 year old Dr Abass Adam tells Joy News he knew he would one day return to his hometown where he discovered there is a huge gap in specialist medical services. And he didn’t return home empty handed. Dr Adams brought with him medical equipment worth around 800 thousand dollars from Germany. Now he says government must provide some 400 thousand dollars for a CT scanner and MRI before his equipment could be used at the Tamale Teaching Hospital. That would then make the new neurosurgical ward fully functional. Until then simple head and spinal injuries cannot surgically treated in Tamale. Dr Abass Adam has been speaking to my colleague Cyrus deGraft-Johnson on what prompted him to relocate to Tamale with his special skills.

How long have been in Tamale?
1. How long have you been away from Ghana?
2. What made you return to the north and not Accra or some other city in the south?
3. How many doctors are there at the teaching hospital?
4. How has it been like?
5. Am told government would to have support financially to install some devices you brought with you from Germany?
6. What has been the response?
7. What are the challenges?
8. Any regrets for coming back to Ghana?
9. What do you think government can do to attract the likes of you to Ghana and to less privileged areas?
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Environmentalist suggests infusion of climate change issues into development planning in Ghana
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Summit on climate change opens today
The 15th conference of parties to the United Nations framework on climate change opens today in Copenhagen, Denmark. The conference opens amidst uncertainties of what the likely outcome will be. The general expectation is that the industrialized countries will support calls for pragmatic actions to lessen the impact of climate change. African countries attending the Copenhagen Conference on Climate change are expected to demand that developed countries cut down on green house emission by forty per cent. They would also request for funds and technical knowhow to tackle desertification, dry winds, sea erosion and deforestation among others. That’s according to a Member of Parliament’s Committee on Environment, Professor Ameyaw Akumfi. Meanwhile the African Union chairman John Ping says Africa is responsible for only 3.8 percent of global carbon emission but it is ready to help find solutions at the climate change talks.