Mr. Ibrahim Larmorde
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Are we sure...hhehehe....The Chairman, Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission, Mr. Ibrahim Larmorde, has said that the
commission and the United Kingdom’s Metropolitan Police are
investigating some serving and former governors, ministers, heads of
service of the federation, and federal lawmakers.
Lamorde said that the operatives of the
EFCC and the Met Police were investigating the serving and former public
office holders for money laundering and looting of public treasury.
The EFCC Chairman made the comment while
playing host to the Metropolitan Police Special Crime and Operations
Unit led by Detective Chief Inspector Jonathan Benton in Abuja, on
Monday.
Lamorde refused to disclose the
identities and the total number of the public office holders on the
watch list of the commission and the Met Police on the premise that the
investigation was jointly carried out by the EFCC and the UK Police.
He said the affected current and former
public office holders would be arrested and their identities revealed
after the commission must have concluded investigation into their cases.
He said, “You are also very much aware
that the Metropolitan Police Proceeds of Corruption Unit is the unit
that assisted us in the case of DSP Alamieyeseigha in the past, Joshua
Dariye, and of course the big one that everybody is aware of, James
Ibori, who is currently serving a jail term in the United Kingdom.
“In a few months’ time, there is also
going to be a confiscation proceedings in respect of the assets of James
Ibori in the United Kingdom which of course we have been working
assiduously to make sure it will be successful.
“In respect of some of the new cases we
have embarked upon, we are investigating some sitting state governors,
some ministers that are serving, also ministers that have left office,
some former heads of service of the federation and members of the
National Assembly.
“We will never mention names, since it’s
a joint investigation that we are doing, and you know unlike what we do
here where some of our people here wants sensationalism, that’s not the
way it works with them.
“The investigation has to be conducted
properly first, it is when the matter is ready to go to court that
publicities are given to individual cases; for the time being they are
here, we are reviewing those investigations and when we are ready to go
to court then names and these cases will be properly mentioned.”
Lamorde said that investigations into
the cases against the public office holders would take some time to
conclude just like the Ibori case which took up to six to seven years of
investigation before he was arraigned in court.
Larmorde warned that any public office holder who got involved in the theft of public funds would not go free.
He said that the commission had put in place the machinery to track those stealing and taking such loot outside the country.
“…We cannot be in a hurry, the most
important thing is that people should know that a lot is going on, and
any person, either a man or woman, occupying public office, who decides
to put her hand or his hand in government coffers to steal, would not
have any hiding place.
“Whether you take the money outside this
country or not, there is machinery in place to trace this money and
also bring such individuals to justice,” Lamorde added
He commended the Met Police for
complementing the efforts of the commission to discourage people from
stealing public funds in the country.
Larmorde added that the UK had also ensured that assets bought with stolen money were returned to the Nigerian government.
He said some assets that had been confiscated by the UK would soon be returned to the country.
The leader of the Met Police Delegation,
Benton, assured Nigerians of the readiness of the UK Police to support
the EFCC as London remained one of the major destinations of people
embarking on holidays and those who wanted to buy houses.
He said, “The International Financial
Centre in London do play a part in the way money worked, the way money
is flown and the way money is moved and where people like to buy houses
and where they spent their holidays and some chose school.”
Lamorde also spoke on the state of the ongoing cases against some former governors in the country.
He complained about the criminal justice
system that created room for lawyers to embark on deliberate measures
to delay cases involving influential politicians.
The EFCC boss stated, “Abubakar Audu was
charged to court in 2006; we started in Lokoja, we went to Supreme
Court three times with him, for everything they will put an application
that they don’t like the judge,. the judge is biased, but if you say no,
then go to the Court of Appeal, then Supreme Court, we are now at the
Federal High Court in Abuja.
“In the case of Saminu Turaki, we had to
obtain a bench warrant. Currently he is a wanted person because he has
refused to show up for trial. We started here in Abuja, they contested
jurisdiction; the trial was taken to Dutse. In the case of Jolly Nyame,
we are still at the High Court in Abuja with him, and he is still
contesting.
“In the case of Joshua Dariye, we have
been in court and he has been a senator. The man in Ekiti, we were in
court with him and he is now elected governor of Ekiti State again.
“I think we have to look at the criminal
justice system in this country, it is not a question of arrest of the
individuals; we have arrested people, we have charged them to court,
2006 to date is how many years? And yet we are still at the preliminary
level because these people can afford good lawyers that will continue to
prolong the trial.
“Please, continue to monitor the trial
in court, because if journalists are there, a judge will think twice
before granting some applications, he will think that people are
watching me, and my decisions will be reported.
“It is time for all of us as a country
to look at the criminal justice system so we can address some of these
shortcomings and deal with them.”
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