BREAKING NEWS, Crime
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Ibrahim Lamorde has fallen from grace ever since he was accused of diverting N1 trillion from the sale of properties belonging to convicted public officials, culminating in his sack by President Muhammadu Buhari on November 9
EVER since Ibrahim Lamorde, chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, was allegedly accused of corruption most people have known that his days in office are numbered. This is especially so since he presided over the crime bursting agency during the era of President Goodluck Jonathan without cracking any serious case involving corrupt government officials.
Over the years high profile corruption cases such as the Pension scam in which pensioners deprived of the pensions because top government officials stole billions of money that would have been used for the payment. Despite the hoopla that occasion the case, Lamorde’s agency did not even catch the big thieves.
Also, he was intermittently accused of corrupt practices lately. Lamorde is currently being investigated over allegations of diversion of over N1trillion from the sale of confiscated properties belonging to convicted public officials including Diepreye Alamieyesiegha, former governor of Bayelsa State, and Tafa Balogun, former Inspector-General of Police, among many others.
The decision to probe him was taken after one George Uboh appeared before the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions on August 23, where he alleged that Lamorde dipped his hands into the said funds.
So it came as no surprise when President Muhammadu Buhari relieved him of his appointment unceremoniously on Monday, November 9. Ibrahim Magu, another top official of the agency has been tipped to replace him.
Lamorde’s sacking came a few days before the end of his four-year tenure. Jonathan had on November 23, 2011 named him the commission’s acting chairman after sacking Mrs. Farida Waziri as the chairman.
His appointment was later confirmed by the Senate on February 15, 2012.
It had been speculated since October that Buhari had ruled out the possibility of giving Lamorde a second term in office.
According to PUNCH, Buhari personally informed Lamorde of his sacking inside the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Monday. The sacked EFCC boss had met behind closed-doors with the President shortly after he inaugurated the new National Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, and five national commissioners.
Lamorde did not speak with reporters at the end of the encounter.
In December 2007 when Ribadu was removed by President Umaru Yar’Adua, Lamorde took over as acting chairman in January 2008, holding this position until Waziri was appointed chairperson in May 2008.
He was then posted to Ningi in Bauchi State.
In December 2010, Lamorde returned to the EFCC, again as director of Operations. He replaced Stephen Otitoju, the acting director of Operations.
— November 9, 2015, 8:30 GMT
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