The Chairman of the Economic
and Financial Crimes Commission,
Mrs. Farida Waziri, might have
initiated discreet moves to
persuade President Goodluck
Jonathan to retain her as the
head of the anti-graft agency.
It was gathered that Waziri had
been visiting the residence of
Senate President, David Mark,
who is believed to be one of the
President ’s men to prevail on
Jonathan to halt any plans
remove her from the
commission.
SATURDAY PUNCH investigations
over the past two weeks showed
that Waziri was jolted by the
sudden withdrawal of the former
Director of Operations of the
commission, Mr. Steve Otitoju, by
the police authorities and his
replacement with Ibrahim
Lamorde, a former DOO of the
commission under Mallam Nuhu
Ribadu, without any prior notice.
SATURDAY PUNCH gathered the
EFCC chairman was not given the
opportunity to make the
announcement of Lamorde ’s
movement to the commission to
head the operations arm.
It was gathered that it was the
Inspector-General of Police, Mr.
Hafiz Ringim, who announced
Larmode ’s appointment and the
recall of Otitoju to his primary
duty post in the police.
It was learnt that Waziri initially
resisted the appointment of
Larmorde, but was told “it was a
directive from above.”
It was gathered that Otitoju
might not be the only policeman
on secondment to the EFCC, who
might be recalled as moves were
being made to replace all
policemen, who had put in three
years and above with fresh
police detectives as a way of
intensifying the campaign
against corruption in the society.
However, the Police Force Public
Relations Officer, Mr. Sola Amore,
denied the claim that a directive
had been issued to that effect
that the policemen on
secondment to the EFCC, who had
spent three years and above, be
recalled.
Our correspondent however
gathered that the change of
guards in the DOO office
signified that more far reaching
changes would soon be carried
out in the commission.
Larmorde, who was relieved of
his position in the EFCC in 2007
by the Yar ‘Adua Administration,
was the DOO under the inaugural
chairman of the commission –
Ribadu – now a presidential
aspirant under the umbrella of
the Action Congress of Nigeria.
Investigations showed that
Larmode was on his way to
replacing the chairman of the
commission because the
Presidency was not happy with
the state of the campaign against
corruption under the leadership
of Waziri.

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