Mr. Ibrahim Lamorde

Acting Chairman of Nigeria's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission

In office January 2008 – May 2008
Preceded by Nuhu Ribadu
Succeeded by Farida Mzamber Waziri

Chairman of Nigeria's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission

Assumed office 23 November 2011
Preceded by Farida Mzamber Waziri
Born 20 December 1962 (age 51) Mubi, Adamawa State
Nationality Nigerian
Occupation Police Officer

Ibrahim Lamorde (born 20 December 1962) is a Nigerian police officer who was appointed Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on 23 November 2011 after chairman Farida Waziri had been dismissed by President Goodluck Jonathan. He was confirmed as Chairman by the Senate on 15 February 2012.

Early career

Lamorde was born on 20 December 1962 in Mubi, Adamawa State. He attended Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, graduating with a BA in Sociology in 1984. He joined the Nigerian police in 1986, and from 1987 to 1988 worked at the Niger State Police Command in Minna. From 1988 to 1989 he was Divisional Crime Officer in Rijau, Niger State. He then served as Police Public Relations Officer for the Niger State police from 1989 to 1993.

In 1993 Lamorde was appointed an officer of the newly created Special Fraud Unit (SFU) of the Nigeria Police, serving in the unit charged with investigated advance-fee fraud until 2002. One of Lamorde's colleagues at the SFU was Farida Waziri. While in the SFU, from 2000 to 2001 he was seconded to the United Nations Civilian Police in the Ermera District of East Timor as a Chief Investigation Officer. Lamorde was a Divisional Police Officer in Oyo State before being deployed to the police force headquarters in Abuja.

EFCC

When the EFCC was created in 2003, headed by Nuhu Ribadu, Lamorde was made Director of Operations. In December 2007 Ribadu was removed from his post by president Umaru Musa Yar'Adua, ostensibly to attend a training course. Lamorde took over as Acting Chairman in January 2008, holding this position until Farida Waziri was appointed Chairperson in May 2008. He was then posted to Ningi in Bauchi State. In December 2010 Lamorde returned to the EFCC, again as Director of Operations. He replaced Stephen Otitoju, the acting Director of Operations.

When Farida Waziri was dismissed on 23 November 2011, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Lamorde was again appointed Acting Chairman. A number of other senior police officers were said to be competing for the position of EFCC Chairman. Lamorde's association with Waziri dating back to their days with the SFU could be a handicap. However, Lamorde was confirmed as substantive Chairman of the EFCC on the 15 February 2012.

Miscellaneous

Lamorde is a member of the Nigerian Institute of Management and the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations.

The Man Who Would Be Czar

You could call him a cat with nine lives. The new anti-graft Czar, Mr. Ibrahim Lamorde, an Assistant Commissioner of Police, has survived the politics of the anti-corruption war over the years. But here he is today as the acting Chairman/Chief Executive of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), for the second time. His appointment is expected to “rev up” the anti-graft war by the Goodluck Jonathan administration. Lamorde, 48, was the no-nonsense Director of Operations when Malam Nuhu Ribadu held fort as chairman. Then former President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua removed Ribadu in 2008 under the pretext of sending him for a senior officers’ course at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, Plateau State. Lamorde stepped in momentarily. But with Farida Waziri appointed as the substantive chairman, she went on a cleansing mission, purging EFCC of every Ribadu DNA. Lamorde was initially penciled down to be sent to Police Staff College, Jos, Plateau State, for a course. Then he was posted to Ningi, a particularly dangerous area in Bauchi State. Yar’Adua died. Dr. Goodluck Jonathan took over. In less than seven months – December 2010 to be precise – Lamorde was back to the EFCC, to his old post of Director of Operations, effectively the deputy chairman of the commission. Lamorde has over 20 years continuous training and experience in policing and management. He joined the Nigeria Police Force in 1986, after graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in Sociology from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, in 1984. He served at the Niger State Police Command between 1987 and 1988 in Minna. He was Divisional Crime Officer (DCO) in Rijau, Niger State, between 1988 and 1989 and served as Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) Niger State Command for four years. Lamorde was a pioneer officer of the Special Fraud Unit (SFU) of the Nigeria Police, created in 1993. He served in the premier anti-419 corps of the Nigeria Police until 2002. While still an officer of the SFU, he was deployed as Chief Investigation Officer of Ermera District of East Timor of the United Nations Civilian Police where he served between 2000 and 2001. He was briefly Divisional Police Officer, Ojo, Ibadan, Oyo State and was later deployed in the Force Headquarters, Abuja, from where he was seconded as a pioneer officer and Director of Operations of the EFCC. In the global pursuit of criminals, Lamorde has worked effectively with other government law enforcement agencies around the world, including the FBI, Metropolitan Police, US Postal Inspection Services (USPIS), Internet Crime Complaints Centre (IC3), the Dutch Police, German Police and the South African Police, among others. Lamorde, a Member of the Nigerian Institute of Management (NIM) and Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), has attended several international training programmes, seminars and workshops where he delivered papers on the Nigerian fight against corruption, Advance Fee Fraud and other forms of economic and financial crimes. He also attended a Strategic Management of Regulatory and Enforcement Agencies course at the Harvard University in 2005.

© http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/the-man-who-would-be-czar/103520/

Waziri's Sack And The Future Of EFCC

To every discerning observer of the polity, the removal of Mrs Farida Waziri as the boss of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, last Wednesday did not come as a surprise. The only element of surprise is that it took the Goodluck administration this long before firing her. Right from the time Jonathan mounted the saddle as the country's substantive president after the death of Umaru Yar Adua, close associates and supporters of the president have left no one in doubt they were unimpressed with the way Waziri was running the anti-graft agency. They not only accused Waziri of being selective in her campaign against corruption, they also branded her a weakling who had failed to sustain the momentous fight against corruption left behind by her predecessor, Nuhu Ribadu. These, coupled with Waziri's tango with the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Adoke Mohammed, over prosecution of cases by the EFCC made Waziri an orphan in the administration and her removal was only a matter of time. Irrespective of the reasons adduced by the government for the removal of Waziri, it is our considered opinion that the administration needs to do more to reposition the agency for effective fight against the hydra-headed monster called corruption in the land. It is our belief that as desirable as the removal of the EFCC boss is, the government needs to address the institutional problems bedevilling the agency. Removing Waziri will not solve the agency's long standing problems. What is required at this stage of the EFCC is to take a wholesome look at the institution and initiate serious reforms to make the fight agaist corruption effective. We need to take another look at the system which gives the president the power to appoint and remove the head of the anti corruption body. The fight against corruption can only be effective if those charged with the fight are independent and immune from executive interference. We say this because corruption is largely perpetrated by government officials and it will be difficult to bring these officials to book if operatives of the EFCC can be removed by those in government. We suggest that the agency become independent and its head selected by the judiciary from untainted judges or police officers, serving or retired . The appointment of the EFCC chairman should not be subjected to the whims and caprices of the president. We hope that Waziri's removal was not another gimmick to fool the international community of investors that the present administration was serious in fighting corruption when the facts on the ground do not justify this. It is our plea that the just appointed acting chairman of the EFCC, Ibrahim Lamorde should be given a chance to succeed. Knowing his pedigree as a former director of operations of the highly acclaimed former EFCC boss, Nuhu Ribadu, he is expected to give the anti graft body the necessary verve to a successful war against corruption.

© http://pmnewsnigeria.com/2011/11/28/waziri’s-sack-and-the-future-of-efcc