The Director of Operations in the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mr. Ibrahim Lamorde, is to join his boss, Nuhu Ribadu, on a compulsory one year course.
Lamorde, according to sources in the commission, is to proceed on a one-year Senior Officers� course at the Police College, Jos, Plateau State .
Before his displacement, Lamorde was touted as a possible successor to the EFCC Chairman, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu.
Ribadu has been ordered to proceed on a yearlong course at the Nigerian Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru near Jos.
Our correspondent had learnt that before the sudden twist of events, immense lobby had commenced among people who wanted to take over the plum job.
It was gathered that among those being considered for the job was Lamorde, an Assistant Commissioner of Police.
Sources at the Presidency told our correspondent on Saturday that a memo had already been sent to President Umaru Yar�Adua on the �inevitability of Ribadu�s exit� from the commission.
Our source further noted that Lamorde�s exit from the EFCC top hierachy, and most likely from contention for Ribadu�s job, could not be unconnected with the high-wired politics that led to the removal of Ribadu.
According to him, Lamorde�s ascension to the chairmanship would most likely be a continuation of the former chairman�s zest for harassing corrupt political heavyweights.
The source said, �After all, everybody appreciates that Lamorde, as Director of Operations, had been Ribadu�s iron fist in the fight against the lords of corruption in the country; he has been Ribadu�s right-hand man.
�It was Lamorde who led the charge which culminated in the arrests of many big people, including former IGP, Mr. Tafa Balogun; former Bayelsa governor; Diepreye Alameyieseigha; Chimaroke Nnamani; the former governor of Delta State, James Ibori, and so many others. In fact, the man has been a vital part of the fight against corruption.�
With his exit from the picture, the other two contenders for the position are Solomon Arase and Yinka Balogun, both commissioners of police.
Arase is a close associate of Ibori and a former aide to Balogun. Arase, who recently edited a book on the future of the Nigeria Police, holds an LLM degree.
He had been a principal staff officer to three former inspectors-general of police and the current IGP, Mr. Mike Okiro.
He is currently a student at the National Defence College, Abuja.
But if the planned recruitment of any of the three failed, it was gathered that the police, in conjunction with the Presidency, could hire a retired police officer for the job.
This, the source said, was still in line with the laws setting up the commission.
According to him, �In his replacement, three persons are being considered, but if the three are unable to make it, it is also possible to appoint a retired police officer.
�But let me tell you that whatever we suggest here will still have to be approved by the President and he is at liberty to either take our recommendation or pick his own nominee.�
Meanwhile, more facts have emerged on why Ribadu was removed from office.
His removal, it was gathered, was as a result of pressure from some former governors, who were said to have blackmailed the President to drop Ribadu as head of the anti-graft body.
The highly placed source added that some of the people, especially those who worked very closely with Yar�Adua, had threatened to go after the President if he did not yield to their demands.
The source said, �These people are desperate, and their desperation seems have been heightened by the recent arrests and prosecution of some former governors, who had been influential to his coming into power.
�What is happening in Aso Rock is a last-minute big conflict and what we hear is that Yar�Adua is now under blackmail to fire the EFCC chairman or they go after him. The question now is will he take a stand or keep prevaricating?�
He added, �These people have also warned the President that if he does not remove Ribadu soon, the EFCC boss might turn around and disgrace him. Of course, the Kuru angle is just a new plank in the old effort to checkmate Ribadu. Or, since when has it become the duty of the Inspector-General of Police to send Ribadu on a course?�
He, added, however, that there was always the international and diplomatic angles to consider, should the President decided to remove the EFCC boss.
�Ribadu is a known international figure because of his efforts in the fight against corruption in Nigeria. His work has attracted a lot of recognition and admiration from the international community. A lot of international bodies who have begun to express confidence in the democratic process and the country�s fight against corruption would not be excited at Ribadu�s removal. Don�t forget that a lot of the funding used for the commission�s work has come from international and diplomatic bodies that have begun to identify with the country�s fight against corruption,� he added.
Efforts by our correspondent to reach the Head, Media and Publicity in the EFCC, Mr. Osita Nwajah, to get confirmation was unsuccessful as all his phones were switched off.
Investigations further revealed that Ribadu had neutralized previous serious intrigues aimed at getting him out of office.
He had always insisted on discreet containment operations, dependable sources in Kaduna have told Sunday Punch.
Determined, but surreptitious moves aimed at easing him out of office began in June, this year.
According to the sources, EFCC recovered a sum of $420 contributed at a meeting of top Nigerian some politicians, including two governors who are facing trial for corruption.
Three of the men whom the politicians had given the moeny after a meeting in Abuja shortly after the inauguration of President Umaru Yar�Adua, later turned in the amount to the EFCC.
In August this year, a meeting attended by a prominent Lebanese international businessman and other businessmen who had acted as fronts for top government officials, made more elaborate arrangements.
A Presidency official, who attended the businessmen�s meeting at Sussex Gardens in Paddington Hotel, London, was expected to convince the Presidency that Mallam Nuhu Ribadu�s continued stay was a big risk and the official was promised strategic support towards becoming the Chief of Staff.
Dec302007