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In a Sunday press statement issued by his media assistant, Tony\u00a0Eluemunor, Ibori said: \u201cI have been informed that the British Court of\u00a0<\/span>Appeal will on Wednesday, October 17, 2018 in London rule on the challenge I\u00a0<\/span>mounted against my conviction. Many Nigerian journalists who have been\u00a0<\/span>following Mr. Lambertus de Boer on Twitter have also for days now\u00a0<\/span>been contacting me concerning the ruling.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
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\u201cLet me state unequivocally that just as I stated in the legal appeal\u00a0against my conviction, I have been a victim of political persecution\u00a0<\/span>instead of judicial and legal prosecution as untold quantum of lies were\u00a0<\/span>heaped against me \u2013 even in the United Kingdom and by her officials\u00a0<\/span>too.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
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\u201cOwing to this, I have since lost faith in the British judicial system having\u00a0been through it and observed first-hand the politics, desperations and\u00a0<\/span>wicked machinations inherent in the process that rigged the trial against\u00a0<\/span>me and against all judicial wholesome processes which differentiate the\u00a0<\/span>modern era from the dark ages.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
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\u201cTherefore, to those who have been calling me ahead of the ruling, I say\u00a0this: Whatever the outcome of Wednesday\u2019s ruling, I will continue to\u00a0<\/span>protest the political nature of my predicament. This was very evident in\u00a0<\/span>the attempt by the Home Secretary to detain me in prison beyond the\u00a0<\/span>stipulated sentence even after I had served my legally prescribed term.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
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\u201cIn all of this I will say that what I have been through since the\u00a0persecution against me began has taught me incredible lessons; lessons I\u00a0<\/span>could not have learnt in any institution of higher learning. Such\u00a0<\/span>uncommon lessons have made me a better person as they have shown\u00a0<\/span>me the down side of life and that, unfortunately, perception often\u00a0<\/span>trumps reality.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
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\u201cI have accepted my ordeal as part of my destiny and have come to\u00a0terms with it. I have served my punishment, and I have never allowed t<\/span>he ordeal to weigh me down. Luckily for me, with every passing day\u00a0<\/span>the charges heaped on me are daily proved to have been deliberate lies.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
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\u201cMy immediate family and friends have suffered the devastating\u00a0consequences of my travails. I have served my time and it is time for me\u00a0<\/span>to move on with my life. I have decided to dedicate the rest of my life\u00a0<\/span>to worthy causes in my beloved Delta state, Mother Nigeria and Africa as\u00a0<\/span>a whole. Very soon, some of such worthy causes may be made public,\u00a0<\/span>but for now, I will prefer them to remain unannounced.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
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\u201cI am not a piece of chinaware that would break to pieces if it fell on the\u00a0kitchen floor. No! Instead, like a good mechanic, I will, God helping me,\u00a0<\/span>put together the pieces of my life which my political enemies and their\u00a0<\/span>collaborators, both local and foreign, think they have irrevocably\u00a0<\/span>shattered. No, God has not allowed me to break into pieces. With the\u00a0<\/span>new chance He has given me, I will place myself in the service of\u00a0<\/span>humanity\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n