SEPTEMBER 26, 2012 BY OLUSOLA FABIYI AND FRIDAY OLOKOR,
ABUJA.

Former Federal Commissioner for Information, Chief Edwin Clark,
has called on President Goodluck Jonathan to remove the
Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mr.
Ibrahim Lamorde, from office.
He alleged that Lamorde played some roles in the $15m offered
former EFCC chairman, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, by former Delta
State Governor James Ibori.
Unlike Lamorde’s claim, Clark insisted that the money belonged to
the Delta State Government.
Clark spoke in Abuja on Tuesday at a press briefing.
He alleged that there were contradictions and lies in the affidavit
deposed to by the EFCC concerning the Ibori’s $15m bribe.
For example, he said the affidavit deposed to on August 10 2012
by Bello Yahaya, a Police officer attached to the EFCC on behalf of
the anti corruption agency, “put the anti-graft agency not only in
ridicule, but portray it as an agency not transparent, competent
and committed to war against corruption”.
He said, “In paragraph seven of the his affidavit, Yahaya claimed
‘That I know as a fact that the said $15m is an unclaimed property
and no one has claimed or shown any link to the sum’.
“This is not true as in September 2009, the Delta State Elders and
Leaders Stakeholders Forum in a protest march that took them to
the Central Bank of Nigeria premises in Abuja submitted a written
petition to the Governor of Central Bank urging him to refund the
money to the Delta State Government as Ibori, as an individual,
could not have raised the said huge sum.
“Also in the charges that were later dropped by the London
Crown Court against James Ibori and in the statement of former
EFCC chairman, Nuhu Ribadu statements to the Metropolitan
Police, the ownership of the said money were not in doubt.”
Efforts made to speak with the Acting Head of Media and Publicity
of the commission, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren were not successful as
calls made to his mobile telephone indicated that it was switched
off.
He also did not respond to a text message sent to the telephone as
well.

Source =www.punchng.com/news/sack-lamorde-over-15m-ibori-bribe-clark/