On Tuesday, the embattled former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Lamorde informed the Senate that they do not possess the power to invite him as the subject of an investigation.
He made this assertion through his lawyer, Festus Keyamo, who appeared on Mr. Lamorde’s behalf before the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions at the National Assembly in Abuja.
The former EFCC Chairman is being investigated over an allegation that he fraudulently diverted over N1 trillion in proceeds from corruption recovered by the anti-graft agency.
Mr. Keyamo explained that the Senate has no constitutional power to invite his client to the committee given that his client is no longer the Chairman of the EFCC.
Mr. Keyamo stated that it is only the courts that can exercise such power, adding that his client is ready to honor the power of the courts. The lawyer noted that his client would, “only appear [before the committee] if he [Lamorde] is invited as a witness.”
The Chairman of the committee, Emmanuel Nwanyawu, informed Mr. Keyamo that the committee is not a court of law and, therefore, a lawyer cannot appear before it on behalf of his client. He further explained that Mr. Keyamo was not allowed to take an oath on behalf of his client.
The Chairman noted that another letter of summons would be issued to Mr. Lamorde informing him he must appear before the committee on November 24th.
