N1tr forfeited funds: Reps Seek ICPC’s Probe Of EFCC

Where is the N1trillion forfeited cash with the Economic
and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)?
Has the cash been remitted into government coffers? Was
it diverted? These were some of the posers raised by the House of
Representatives yesterday following a motion moved by
Minority Leader Leo Ogor.

Ogor is seeking an investigation into the whereabouts of
the recovered loot in line with the war against corruption.
A businessman, George Uboh, had petitioned the Federal
Ministry of Justice on the matter, accusing EFCC Chairman
Ibrahim Lamorde of diverting the cash.
The ministry has directed EFCC to probe its chairman
based on Uboh’s petition. At plenary yesterday, the House directed its Committee on
Financial Crimes to investigate the alleged non-remittance
of the funds by EFCC. The lawmakers also urged the Solicitor-General of the
Federation and Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of
Justice, to re-assign the investigation of Uboh’s petition to
either the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other
Related Offences Commission (ICPC) or the Police.
Moving the motion titled: “Urgent need to investigate the
non-remittance of court-ordered forfeited funds and
properties by the EFCC into the Consolidated Revenue
Fund of the Federation and for other related matters”, Ogor
opposed the Solicitor-General’s directive  that EFCC
should investigate Lamorde.
According to him, Section 88(i) of the 1999 Constitution
confers powers on the House to investigate the diversion
of funds by Lamorde and other past EFCC chairmen.
He said there was a subsisting petition by Uboh against the
present and past EFCC leaders on alleged funds diversion,
noting that  the House “should thoroughly investigate the
allegation of diversion of this huge sums of monies -trillion
of naira; other members of staff of the EFCC must be
investigated.”
Ogor added: “The EFCC is not the only agency of
government charged with investigations that border on
diversion of funds by public officers; the EFCC itself
cannot be a judge in its own case.”
Funds worth billions of naira, he said, should have been
paid into the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the federation
as stipulated under Section 31(2, 3) of the EFCC
establishment Act of 2004.
In the wake of Uboh’s  allegation, the EFCC commissioned
KPMG to audit its financial accounts.
The issue is also before the Senate and the audit report is
expected to be laid before the Senator Samuel Anyanwu-
led Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions.