Kayode Sesan
The Senate has directed its Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions to issue a warrant of arrest on former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commision (EFCC), Ibrahim Lamorde.
Lamorde had refused to honour several invitations of the committee to answer charges brought against him while in office.
The former head of EFCC had ignored invitations of the Senate to respond to a petition that touches on allegations of embezzlement on his part as chairman of the anti-corruption agency.
This follows the submission by the Senator Samuel Anyanwu-led Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions, which, in its report at plenary on Thursday, February 25, 2016, declared that the committee had invited Lamorde several times, without any response from him.
The Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions was acting on a petition from Dr. George Uboh against Lamorde for alleged financial crimes and corruption,” Anyanwu told the Senate.
He inferred that Lamorde instructed his lawyers to plead for more time to appear before the committee, but he used the lull to sneak out of the country.
“Our investigation shows that Mr. Ibrahim Lamorde transferred money, which the EFCC recovered in foreign and local currency from Recovery Accounts to Operations Account from where he diverted the said money.
“The EFCC, under Lamorde, traded with recovered funds and colluded with real estate companies to undervalue seized assets before they were sold to their cronies,” he alleged.
Chief Ike Ekweremadu, Deputy Senate President, while making reference to the sections of Senate Standing Rules as to the powers of investigation, submitted that a warrant of arrest should be issued on the former EFCC boss.
Senator Bukola Saraki, Senate President, in his remarks, commended the Committee for a detailed job and directed that it should go ahead and compel Lamorde to appear before it through a warrant of arrest.
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