The immediate past Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr Ibrahim Lamorde, has been flown out of the country for medical attention.
His lawyer, Mr Festus Keyamo, at a meeting with members of the Senate Committee on Ethics, said that Lamorde had gone abroad for medical treatment.
An activist, Dr. George Ubah, wrote a petition to that Senate claiming the Lamorde in his capacity as the EFCC Chairman diverted over N1 trillion recovered by the commission.
Lagos lawyer Festus Keyamo, who stood in for Lamorde, defended him.
Keyamo said, “He (Lamorde) is still a policeman, he has no reason to go on exile. Lamorde has served this country very well and let me tell you this if you don’t know. The only way to succeed as the chairman of EFCC is for you not to succeed at all.
“Lamorde is not here today, not out of disrespect to the committee. It is a matter of complete misunderstanding of issues at stake. When Lamorde was invited to this committee, he was invited as chairman of EFCC and between then and now circumstances had changed.
“He is no longer the chairman of EFCC. So, because of that, he thought that would be the end of his invitation because he was invited in that capacity.
“He then handed over the case and travelled for medicals. It was in his absence that the second letter came and addressed as the immediate past EFCC chairman. The fact that he is no longer the chairman, he can no longer be invited except as a witness.”
The Chairman of the committee, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, noted that Senate does not accept representation when it invites anybody to appear before it.
A member of the committee, Senator Obinna Ogba, wondered why Lamorde failed to live by example being a man who was a former boss of the anti-graft agency that usually invited people to appear before it.
He said the non-appearance of Lamorde at the probe was an insult, and disrespect to the Senate.
Senator Tayo Alasoadura, who is also a member of the committee, said: “We are in a situation whereby people are showing their shamelessness.”
Alasoadura queried the capacity in which Keyamo was in the Senate being a lawyer to the EFCC “and the man he claimed to represent is no longer in office as chairman.”
The Chairman of the committee stopped Keyamo half way insisting that anybody could be invited by the Senate panel to come and give evidence.
What followed was hot exchange of words between Keyamo and members of the committee.
At end Anyanwu insisted that Lamorde should make himself available on November 24 notwithstanding the plea by Keyamo that his client would not be available until December 15.
Keyamo later told reporters that the committee was wrong to have insisted that Lamorde must appear before it.
He said: “The constitution is very clear as to those who can be subject to investigation by section 88, 89 of the constitution. By section 88, 89 of the constitution the Senate has powers over two categories of persons.
“The first are those who are subject of investigation. They can be summoned before the committee and the second are witnesses to appear in respect of that investigation.”
Mr Lamorde was scheduled to appear before the committee over allegations of mismanagement of funds recovered from suspects in cases handled by the EFCC under him.
Mr Keyamo asked the committee on ethics to give Lamorde one month to recover from his medical treatment before appearing before the committee.
However, the committee members disagreed, saying Lamorde must appear before the committee next Tuesday, November 24.