UNIBEN's Founder's Day invitation card
The sham trial of former Delta State governor, James Ibori, will likely end with a discharge at the Federal High Court in Asaba next Monday before Justice Mercel Awokulehin, the judge Ibori personally nominated to head the kangaroo court which was paid for by the Delta State government.


Ibori's handpicked federal judge, Mercel Awokulehin
And Ibori will leave Asaba for his alma mater, the University of Benin, where he will give a triumphant Founders' Day address, for which he has now been reinstated by the institution after a "cancellation" last week driven by the university community.

Sources in Abuja told Saharareporters that the former Delta State governor, who has been very worried over the failure of Awokulehin to give the agreed ruling which the judge Awokulehin told the court was ready two weeks earlier but could not be delivered because owing to some mundane reasons he offered.

Awokulehin therefore adjourned the ruling till next Monday, November 23 2009. As an angry Ibori left the courtroom, sources told Saharareporters that he told his close aides that Awokulehin was a coward. Later, Awokulehin reportedly reached out to Ibori to apologize that he couldn’t give the ruling as planned because of the petitions written by two groups especially the one written by Edwin Clark, the famous Ijaw elder statesman. He also told Ibori that the he would like to clear with his superior, the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Dan Abutu.

Ibori, through Aondoaka, has piled pressure on Abutu, who reportedly gave his blessing to the judgment last night in Abuja where all the nation's judges have
It may be party time again on Monday
been meeting at the annual “Judges Conference.”
It may be party time again on Monday

Awokulehin reportedly shunned the Chief Justice of the federation who asked him to offer a response to the petitions written against him. Instead, Ibori’s lawyer, Emeka Arinze, previously unknown in the case, sent a defence on Awokulehin behalf to the National Judicial Council (NJC) through the office of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Kutigi.

Ibori assured Awokulehin that the CJN, was on his way out and he need not worry about the old man. Earlier this week, Yar’adua has already forwarded to the Nigerian Senate, the name of another controversial justice of the Supreme Court, Aloysius Katsin- Alu, to replace Kutigi as CJN.

Furthermore, a last minute advice to Awokulehin to recuse himself did not sway him. The EFCC has also kept its own part of the bargain; the agency refused to file any petitions against the brazen act of impropriety by Awokulehin. This is contrary to what the Commission did against a justice of the Court of Appeal in Lagos, Bode Rhodes–Vivour, who was found to be meddling in the case against recently jailed PDP chieftain, Bode George, whose bail application was came up this morning.

To celebrate his triumph in Asaba on Monday, the University of Benin will host him at the same campus where Ibori made a Third Class before commencing a life of greed and corruption. An invitation card distributed on Thursday obtained by Saharareporters, signed by the registrar of the institution, shows that Ibori's lecture, which would amount to a taunt of every Nigerian that abhors corruption and abuse of office, would take place at the main Auditorium, at 3 PM prompt.

The Delta State government has made arrangements for Ibori to fly in a Helicopter from Asaba to Benin as soon as the ruling is concluded sometime after 9 AM. Ibori will return to Asaba later in the day for the parties that have been planned with the cooperation and generosity of Governor Uduaghan's administration.

Ibori calculates that since the Southwark Crown court in London has deffered to the case in Asaba by adjourning twice at the instance of the Asaba case, being discharged on Monday would spell a death knell for the London trial of his associates which comes up the next day , November 24, before judge
Ibori arrives in his own court in Asaba

A lot of the things you read in saharareporters are mere propaganda. What most people do not know is that Ibori is both loved and admired by many Nigerians, especially Deltans and those from the South South, just the way he has a lot of irredeemable enemies. In the first place, Uniben staff and students never, i repeat, never protested against the choice of Ibori as speaker. He is an alumnus of the university of Benin. The write up in saharareporters was actually meant to incite, the students but it failed to achieve this. This is why saharareporters wrote again to say the rejection was cancelled. There was no rejection in the first place. I can assure you that the students of uniben are actually preparing to give him a heroic welcome. The students who are preparing to welcome him are not a rented crowd! A few days ago, a loyal boy to a former deputy governor was in Uniben to give N250, 000 to some student leaders to incite others to carry placards and protest. The promise is that after the protest, the remaining N250, 000 would be given to them. The guys accepted the money, but they will disappoint them. The plan B is that if this fails, a few students from other schools who will be on standby will be quickly mobilised to carry placards with photographers nearby to take some shots and then disperse the foreigners immediately. Then in a couple of hours, headlines will begin to fly, 'Uniben students protest against Ibori during lecture'. We know why many of these people are having sleepless nights over Ibori.

My brother i dn`t kwn what dis ibori has done to Nigerian.especially journalist.Well i assume it that they are using his name to sell their paper abi?

This man called Ibori is one of the governor that care for the common man during his tenure among all the south south governor, infact even before he became a governor he form a forum in his own local government called (G D M) Grassroot democratic movement.He cares for his people,for Nigeria & the world pls let live dis man alone please.

Viewers, there is a thread currently running with this topic here: https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-354948.0.html. Make your contributions there. It has all you need. Mr. Poster always read through the board before double-posting.