A former London DIY store cashier who became governor of an oil-rich Nigerian state has been jailed for 13 years for fraud totalling nearly $77m.

伦敦DIY商店一名前出纳员——后来成为尼日利亚石油资源丰富的某州州长，因将近7700万美元的欺诈案被判13年监禁。

James Ibori, former governor of Delta¹ state, admitted 10 counts of conspiracy² to defraud³ and money laundering⁴.

Southwark Crown Court was told the amount he stole from the people of Delta state was "unquantified".

Ibori, who evaded⁵ capture in Nigeria after a mob of supporters attacked police, was arrested in Dubai in 2010.

He was extradited to the UK, where he was prosecuted⁶ based on evidence from the Metropolitan⁷ Police.

One of the counts Ibori admitted related to a $37m (£23m) fraud pertaining⁸ to the sale of Delta State's share in Nigerian privatised phone company company V Mobile.

He was governor of Delta State between May 1999 and May 2007.

Sasha Wass, QC, prosecuting⁹, told the court Ibori "deliberately¹⁰ and systematically¹¹" defrauded¹² the people he was elected to represent.

The court heard he came to the UK in the 1980s and worked as a cashier at a Wickes DIY store in Ruislip, north west London.

He was convicted in 1991 of stealing from the store but then returned to Nigeria and began his climb up the People's Democratic Party (PDP) network.

When he ran for governor he lied about his date of birth to hide his criminal conviction（定罪，确信） in the UK - which would have prevented him standing¹³ for office.

Ibori, whose address was given as Primrose¹⁴ Hill, north London, claims to be 53 but police in London say he is 49.

Sentencing him, Judge Anthony Pitts told Ibori: "You lived modestly in London in the 1990s and no-one I think hearing at that time would imagine the multi millionaire high profile governor that you became some eight or nine years later."

He became governor in 1999 but soon began taking money from state coffers.

Judge Pitts said: "It was during those two terms that you turned yourself in short order into a multi-millionaire through corruption¹⁵ and theft in your powerful position as Delta state governor."