by Azeez Adeniyi

A former governor of Delta state, James Ibori had been awarded £1 as compensation by a high court in London over his claim of unlawful detention by Amber Rudd, British home secretary.

Yes, you read that right: one whole British pound.

Ibori had claimed £4,000 in damages.

The judge, Cheema Grubb said Ibori was unlawfully held for one day, 18 hours and 10 minutes last year.

The judge however ruled that he was entitled to only £1 as compensation.

[Read Also: I AM NOT A THIEF – IBORI]

rejecting Ibori’s bid for thousands in compensation, the judge ruled: “There is no compensatory loss to Mr Ibori and I fix nominal damages at £1.”

Ibori was extradited to the UK for trial in February 2012 and prosecuted on the basis of evidence from the metropolitan police.

He was sentenced in April 2012 at Southwark Crown Court to 13 years imprisonment, and an order for his deportation was made in May 2015.

Ibori in a statement by his media aide, Tony Eluemunor said the former Delta governor defeated the British secretary of state for home department in an unlawful detention suit.

“Chief James Onanefe Ibori’s winning streak in London courts continued on Monday, May 22, 2017, as he won an important legal victory against the British secretary of state for the home department. The costs the home department will have to pay to him, as ordered by the court, will be determined later,” he said.

“The victory came when Justice Bobbie Cheema-Grubb DBE of royal courts of justice, Strand, London, agreed with the submissions of Ibori’s counsel Ian Macdonald QC and Ivan Krolick that though Ibori was due for release, he was still maliciously detained on the 20th and 21st December 2016.

“On that 21st December 2016, Ibori’s application for urgent consideration against the detention was heard before a high court judge who ordered Ibori’s immediate release.

“That day, the judge also granted Ibori permission to file claims against the secretary of state of British home department,  who was required to file detailed grounds of resistance to the claim and ordered that a substantive hearing should be listed by 31st January 2017 unless the defendant issued directions for the claimant’s removal by 4pm on 6th January 2017.

“Ibori was eventually released in the evening of 21st December 2016, after a day and some eighteen hours of immigration detention (albeit held in prison).”