How former Edo Governor, Igbinedion, Lost N3.3 billion to Venezuelan conmen

Nemesis may have finally caught up with ex-convict and former Governor of Edo State, Lucky Igbinedion, as he has lost over N3.3 billion to Venezuelan fraudsters, in a deal that bears all the marks of a classic 419 scam, we can authoritatively reveal.

Court documents seen by our correspondent also suggest that Mr. Igbinedion may be insolvent, as two US-based law firms have walked away from a $600 million lawsuit he instituted against the alleged mastermind and the Venezuelan state owned oil company, Petroleos De Venezuela S.A (PDVSA), over his inability to pay retainer as low as N627,000.00 ($3,800.00).

Mr. Igbinedion plundered Edo State treasury for the eight years he was governor. He escaped jail after he reached a controversial plea bargain agreement with the Farida Waziri-led Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, which dropped all but one of the 191 charges of corruption and money laundering against him.

In 2008, a Federal High Court in Enugu sentenced him to six months in prison with the option of a N3.5 million fine. The controversial plea bargain agreement he reached with the EFCC also required that he return N500 million and three of the houses he acquired with stolen public funds to the Federal Government.