By OKECHUKWU PEACE
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Chairman, Ibrahim Lamorde, would explain his role in the alleged diversion of N1 Trillion to the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions.
Lamorde has been invited to appear before the Senate committee at Meeting Room 120 of the New Senate Building, National Assembly Complex, Abuja, by 10am on Wednesday.
The said amount is a proceed of recovered looted funds by the anti-graft agency from a former Governor of Bayelsa State, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha; and ex-Inspector-General of Police, Tafa Balogun.
A petition from one Mr. George Uboh to the Senate prompted Lamorde’s probe. The petitioner, Uboh is also expected to appear same day before the Senate.
According to the petitioner, the alleged fraud was perpetrated while the accused was the Director of Operations of the EFCC between 2003 and 2007, as well as an acting Chairman of the commission between June 2007 and May 2008, when the then chairman of the anti-graft agency, Mr. Nuhu Ribadu, was away for a course at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru, Jos.
Uboh, Chief Executive Officer of Panic Alert Security Systems, a security firm, in his petition dated July 31, 2015, accused Lamorde of some specific instances of under-remittance and non-disclosure of proceeds of corruption recovered from criminal suspects, including Balogun and Alamieyeseigha.
He assured the Senate that he would produce “overwhelming evidence” to back his claims against Lamorde.
Uboh also alleged that the EFCC had not accounted for “offshore recoveries” and that “over half of the assets seized from suspects are not reflected in EFCC exhibit records”.
Uboh, asked that Lamorde be prosecuted and proposed 10 counts of fraud in his petition, which was addressed to the Senate President Bukola Saraki, through the Delta State Senator in the National Assembly, Peter Nwaoboshi.
