A London court has rejected an appeal by former governor of Delta state, James Ibori, seeking to reduce a £101.5 million asset confiscation order imposed on him following his conviction for fraud and money laundering.

According to reports by Reuters, the court of appeal rejected Ibori’s arguments on Tuesday after he challenged the amount ordered by a lower court in 2023.

Ibori approached the court seeking to reduce the confiscation sum by about £4.3 million ($5.8 million).

The confiscation order, equivalent to about $136.05 million, was issued by Southwark Crown Court in July 2023.

The court directed Ibori to pay the amount immediately or face an eight-year default prison sentence.

The appeal had delayed the confiscation process. The proceedings can now move forward unless Ibori decides to challenge the ruling at the UK supreme court.

Speaking to Reuters after the ruling, Ibori said he was consulting his lawyers to determine his next course of action.

He also expressed frustration over the length of the legal proceedings, saying his troubles had persisted for a long time.

“Give me a break,” he added.

Ibori, who was governor of Delta state between 1999 and 2007, was convicted by a UK court in 2012 after pleading guilty to laundering tens of millions of dollars in public funds through British banks and properties.

He was sentenced to 13 years in prison but was released in late 2016 after serving about half of sentence, taking into account time spent in pre-trial and post-trial detention. He returned to Nigeria in early 2017.

The confiscation proceedings followed investigations into his financial activities by Nigerian and British anti-corruption authorities. Ibori had left Nigeria for Dubai before being extradited to Britain in 2011.

In 2020, British prosecutors initiated proceedings to confiscate properties worth about £117 million linked to the former governor.

In July 2023, David Tomlinson, a judge at Southwark Crown Court, ordered the confiscation of £101.5 million traced to Ibori, following what he described as factual findings.

At the time, Ibori said he would appeal the decision, describing the ruling as difficult to comprehend and accept.

He alleged that the prosecution had failed to establish that money was stolen from Delta state and accused the judge of disregarding evidence and arguments presented by his lawyers.

He also questioned the directive to pay the confiscation sum immediately, arguing that selling the restrained assets could take several months.

The former governor had said the eight-year default sentence could become an issue if proceeds from the sale of his assets fell short of the amount ordered by the court.

In 2021, the British government returned £4.2 million recovered from Ibori’s former wife and sister to Nigeria under a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed by both countries in March of that year.

Nigeria’s U-17 female national team, Flamingos have qualified for the final of the 2026 Women’s U-17 World Cup.

The team defeated Brazil 3-1 vict in the semi-final in Sale, Morocco, on Wednesday.

A Queen Joseph opener and an Awawu Bashiru double drowned out Graise Kelly’s consolation goal, sending Nigeria to its first-ever final of the competition.

Before the kickoff whistle at the Mohammed VI Football Complex, a bronze medal in the 2022 edition was the highest Flamingos had achieved at the World Cup.

But after the Akeem Busari-led side wrapped up the game against a befuddled Brazilian team, only three days separated the Flamingos from Nigeria’s first global title in women’s football.

The first half ended goalless until the match picked up pace just after halftime. Oluwakeyi Adegbuyi drove into the Brazilian area, and her scuffed shot swerved into Joseph’s path, who tucked it in to give Nigeria the lead.

Then Bashiru doubled the advantage a few minutes later with an audacious cross-shot that lobbed, from the left byline, above everyone’s reach and into the net.

Bashiru then grabbed her second of the game after finishing a move that saw Flamingos practically pass the ball into the Brazilian net.

Brazil’s late strike was only good for a consolation against a team that outperformed them by all metrics.

Nigeria will face Japan, who defeated North Korea on penalties, in the final on Saturday.

Former US President Barack Obama has called on Democrats to use their control of Congress to make changes and lay the groundwork for the future.

Democrats won full control of the US Congress in a sweeping mid-term rout Tuesday, with a landslide of upsets that delivered a crushing rebuke of President Donald Trump and his Republican Party.

Obama said the victory was a “clear message” from the American people.

“They want a politics that brings people together rather than divides them, and leaders who offer concrete solutions to the challenges they face,” he said.

Obama threw his political weight behind Democrats in key battleground states, rallying voters to rein in Trump and casting the mid-terms as a crucial chance to curb his administration’s excesses.

“These results were only possible because outstanding candidates stepped forward in every region of the country — including in areas once considered long shots,” Obama said in a statement.

“They came from different backgrounds and represented a range of political perspectives, but were united by shared values, a belief in public service, and a commitment to putting the people of their districts and states first.”

Obama noted that the Trump administration has another two years in office, “our job now is to roll up our sleeves, make changes wherever we have the power to do so, prevent further damage, and lay the groundwork for the future”.

Trump watched returns come in from the White House East Room, where the mood was described as tense.

He was silent on Truth Social for three hours Tuesday night as Democrats kept flipping seats blue.

He later posted: “I wasn’t on the Ballot and if I was, we would have won IN A LANDSLIDE! Thank you for your attention to this matter.”