Posted on: 07:16 Tue, 27 Oct 2015



The Federal Ministry of Justice has
ordered the Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission (EFCC) to
commence investigation into the
allegation that the agency’s
chairman, Ibrahim Lamorde,
diverted about N1 trillion proceeds
of corruption recovered by the anti-
graft agency.

The request follows a petition dated
September 18, 2015, sent to the
Solicitor-General and Permanent
Secretary, Federal Ministry of
Justice, Mr. Abdullahi Yola.

The petition was filed by a security
expert and Chief Executive Officer of
a security firm, Panic Alert Security
Systems (PASS), George Uboh.
Uboh sent a reminder letter dated
September 28, to Yola, threatening to
sue the ministry, if he failed to
respond to his petition within seven
days.

In the petition, Uboh asked the
Justice Ministry, “through which
EFCC derives its power to
immediately rescind the fiat to
prosecute criminal suspects from
EFCC”.

He also sought a “fiat for the
prosecution of EFCC’s past and
present leadership and their known
and unknown co-conspirators via the
22-page preliminary criminal
charges the undersigned has
prepared.”

The ministry’s letter, signed by the
Director, Public Prosecutions of the
Federation, Muhammad Diri, on
behalf of the Permanent Secretary, is
dated October 8, 2015.

The letter made available to
reporters in Abuja yesterday, reads:
“I refer to your letter dated
September 28, 2015, in respect of the
above mentioned subject matter.

“I am directed to inform you that
your petition has been sent to the
EFCC for their response to the
allegation contained therein.

“The commission has been directed
by the Solicitor-General of the
Federation and Permanent Secretary
to forward the result of its
investigation as soon as it is
completed.

“Accept please, the assurances of the
highest regards of the Solicitor-
General of the Federation and
Permanent Secretary.”

It remains to be seen how the EFCC
will successfully launch an
investigate on its own head.
Lamorde, still presides over
commission activities, and routinely
receives foreign and local agencies
who pay courtesy visits.

Uboh has, however, argued that
“pursuant to the Civil Service Rules,
Ibrahim Lamorde must step aside
during the pendency of the
investigation by the commission”.

He had alleged that Lamorde
diverted among others, the loot
recovered from a former Bayelsa
State Governor, Diepreye
Alamieyeseigha and an ex-Inspector-
General of Police Tafa Balogun.

Source: DAILYPOST