ICPC, not EFCC, should probe Lamorde – Reps

 

…say anti-graft body can’t be judge in its own case

The House of Representatives on Tuesday countered a directive to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to probe its Chairman, Mr. Ibrahim Lamorde, over alleged non-remittance of recovered funds worth over N1tn into the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

The House members said the EFCC could not be a “judge in its own case” by investigating the circumstances surrounding the non-remittance of the funds.

They noted that money and other recovered assets were alleged to have been diverted by the anti-graft agency’s boss as against the requirement of law that such assets should be remitted to the government.

Rather, the House directed its Committee on Financial Crimes to take over the investigation from the EFCC for “a thorough and proper investigation” since it would be impossible to separate the EFCC from Lamorde in this instance.

In the alternative, the House called on the Solicitor-General of the Federation, Mr. Abdullahi Yola, to re-assign the investigation to either the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission or the Nigeria Police in order to guard against possible interference by the EFCC chairman.

The Ministry of Justice had in a Oct. 8 letter to George Uboh, the man who raised the allegation of diversion against Lamorde, said the EFCC had been directed to investigate the anti-graft boss, a position that lawyers in interviews with The PUNCH on Monday said was incongruous.

The Minority Leader of the House, Mr. Leo Ogor, on Tuesday raised the issue under matters of urgent public importance to draw the attention of members to the “anomaly” in allowing the EFCC to conduct an investigation into its own case.

Ogor argued, “The principle of fair hearing is provided for in the 1999 Constitution. The EFCC is the one accused in this case for non-remittance of N1tn and other recovered assets to the Consolidated Fund of the Federation.

“Will the EFCC investigate an allegation levelled against its chairman by itself or for breaching Section 31 of its own Act?

“In conducting this investigation, the Chairman of the EFCC and other members of the commission will be involved too. The commission cannot be a judge in its own case.”

However, a member from Benue State, Mr. Hassan Saleh, opposed the motion on the grounds that the Senate and the Federal Government were already looking into the same issue.

“Mr. Speaker, so many cooks may spoil the meal.I will advise that we wait for the outcome of the investigations already in progress before we embark on this one,” Saleh stated.

But, he lost his bid to stop the motion as the majority of lawmakers backed it.

The session, which was presided over by the Deputy Speaker, Mr. Yussuff Lasun, later passed the motion in a majority voice vote.

Lamorde has been under the searchlight since August after Uboh alleged in a petition that recovered proceeds of corruption worth over N1tn were diverted by the EFCC chairman.

The petitioner had claimed that the proceeds diverted by Lamorde included funds recovered from the late former Governor of Bayelsa State, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, and a former Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Tafa Balogun.

Both Alamieyeseigha and Balogun were found guilty by courts and sentenced to prison terms, in addition to forfeiture of large sums of money and properties.

Alamieyeseigha was however later granted a state pardon by former President Goodluck Jonathan, who was once a deputy to the former as Bayelsa State governor.

Uboh claimed that “offshore recoveries” and other loot returned by corruption suspects were not reflected in the EFCC’s “exhibit records.”

The petition, which was sent to the Senate, led the Senate Committee on Ethics to begin an investigation in August.

Uboh, who is the Chief Executive Officer of Panic Alert Security Systems, again on September 18, wrote to Yola, asking for the probe of Lamorde.

Again, on September 28, he sent a reminder, threatening to sue the ministry if it continued to delay acting on the petition.

However, on October 8, the Director of Public Prosecutions in the Federal Ministry of Justice, Mr. Muhammad Diri, on behalf of Yola, directed the EFCC to investigate the allegations Uboh raised against Lamorde.

But, on Monday, the petitioner protested again by saying that under civil service rules, it would be improper for Lamorde to remain on his seat as the EFCC chairman while the same agency was investigating him.

He called for his resignation.

Senior lawyers and rights activists who spoke to The PUNCH on the justice ministry’s directive on Monday, had said the case ought to have been sent to the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission or the police for investigation.

(c) Punch