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Dear Mr. Adoke (SAN),

Please accept my congratulations on your recent appointment as
the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice.

As AGF, it is your responsibility to ensure that the government
complies with its obligation under section 172 of the 1999 Constitution to
“abolish all corrupt practices and abuse of power” and with similar obligations
in international law. It is against this background that I bring to your
attention the matter of James Ibori, which provides you with a perfect
opportunity to put into action your recent declaration that “there would be no
sacred cows” in the all important fight against corruption.

You will be aware of the ongoing trials of Mr. Ibori’s associates
for conspiracy to commit money laundering and money laundering at the Southwark
Crown, London. The Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (‘MLAT’) between Nigeria and
the United Kingdom requires both countries toafford each other, upon request,
mutual assistance in criminal matters, including obtaining evidence and
extraditing suspects. Similar obligations also arise under the United Nations
Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC), which was ratified by Nigeria and the UK
in 2004 and 2006 respectively.

Despite these obligations, Mr. Aondoakaa refused a request by the
UK government under the MLAT to extradite Mr. Ibori to the UK to take part in
the ongoing prosecutions of his associates. He was quoted in Vanguard newspaper
of November 21, 2007 as defending his decision not to extradite Ibori on the
grounds that “a trial in any other jurisdiction other than Nigeria would
inevitably tarnish the image of Nigeria as a nationand send the message that
the integrity of its criminal justice system cannot be relied upon.”

Mr. Aondoakaa’s decision on these purported grounds is at best
ignorant and at worst dishonest. It is unclear whether he considered the damage
that violations of international obligations would have on Nigeria’s image. In
the event, the dismissal of the charges against Ibori purportedly for lack of
evidence by Justice Marcel Awokulehin of the Asaba High Court has damaged the
integrity of Nigeria’s criminal justice system.

Under the circumstances, extraditing Mr. Ibori to the UK as a
matter of urgency to participate in the criminal proceedings that are primarily
against him will send the right signals both to Nigerians and the international
community about the Acting President’s stated zero tolerance policy on
corruption.

You will also be aware that Mr. Aondoakaa also refused to
authorise the use of evidence obtained from the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission (EFCC) by officers of the Metropolitan Police who had travelled to
Nigeria for that purpose.

This considerable body of evidence was obtained pursuant to two
letters of request under the MLAT. The first, dated 23 August 2006, was issued
when Mr. Bayo Ojo was Attorney-General of the Federation. The second, dated
August 2007, was issued under Mr. Aondoakaa’s watch.

At the preparatory hearing at the Southwark Crown Court in
October 2008 to consider the admissibility of this evidence Judge Rivlin
confirmed that “there has been no communication from the former
Attorney-General Mr. Bayo Ojo in relation to the first letter of request in
2006”. Consequently, he held that there was “nothing to suggest that the
material so gained should not be used in a criminal trial in this country.”
However, in relation to the evidence obtained following the second letter of
request, he ruled that Mr. Aondoakaa never agreed that it should be handed over
to the UK authorities for use in criminal proceedings. Accordingly, the judge
ruled, with “considerable reluctance”, that this evidence would be inadmissible
in UK courts without Mr. Aondoakaa’s approval.

Consequently, eleven boxes containing copies of this evidence
were delivered to Mr. Aondoakaa by the UK authorities in late 2008 for his
approval but Mr. Aondoakaa refused to approve the use of this vital evidence.

As a result, although the evidence obtained following the first
letter of request, which Mr. Bayo Ojo did not object to, was allowed to the Crown
for use in the ongoing trials of Mr. Ibori’s associates, the eleven boxes of
evidence obtained following the second letter of request are not being used in
these proceedings because Mr. Aondoakaa refused to authorise their use.
Consequently, should James Ibori be extradited, this significant body of
evidence will also not be available to the Crown in his prosecution, unless you
authorise its use.

As the decision to approve this evidence now falls to you as the
central authority under the MLAT, I am confident you will fulfil the Nigerian
people’s expectations and follow the good example of Bayo Ojo by approving the
use of this evidence.

Yours sincerely

Osita Mba