TheCable

Festus Keyamo, counsel to Ibrahim Lamorde, former acting chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has asked the police to disregard the threat of the senate to issue a warrant for the arrest of Lamorde.

On Thursday, the senate committee on ethics, privileges and public petitions, directed Samuel Anyanwu, its chairman, to request the warrant from the senate president.

The committee is investigating Lamorde over an alleged diversion of N1trn recovered by the commission under him.

But referring to the move of the lawmakers as “legislative rascality”, Keyamo in a statement issued on behalf of the former anti-graft czar, accused the committee of seeking to usurp the powers of the judiciary and to undermine its authority.

“We respectfully urge the inspector general of police and other law enforcement agencies to disregard any such Warrant of Arrest (if issued) and resist the invitation to drag themselves into this illegal scheme,” the statement read.

“To set the records straight, the antecedents of this matter are briefly reproduced hereunder.

“Pursuant to a petition written by one George Uboh against our client, the Senate referred the petition to the committee for investigation. In the course of the investigation, the committee wrote a letter of invitation to our client as the chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), inviting him to a meeting with the committee on 5th November, 2015.

“Owing to prior engagements, our client could not attend that meeting and this was duly communicated to the committee. However, on the 9th of November, 2015, our client was relieved of his duties as the chairman of the EFCC and he handed over all obligations, duties and responsibilities pertaining to his office to Ibrahim Mustapha Magu, who was appointed acting chairman.

“Despite the fact that our client had handed over to the acting chairman, another letter of invitation was sent to him on 11th November, 2015 inviting him for a meeting with the committee on 17th November, 2015. Our client could not honour that invitation as he was out of the country on his 3-month terminal leave.

“However, on the said 11th November, 2015, we appeared before the committee to represent our client and raised objections to the conduct of the investigations by the committee on two grounds.

“As a law abiding citizen, our client instructed us to institute an action at the federal high court seeking an interpretation of the powers of the senate with respect to investigations. In compliance with our client’s instructions, we instituted the said suit with number FHC/ABJ/CS/934/15 on 19th November, 2015 at the Federal High Court and it was assigned to Honourable Justice G.O. Kolawole sitting at Federal High Court 8, Abuja.”

Keyamo said the senate refused to defend itself in court, saying the committee has been restrained from investigating Lamorde pending the determination of the suit.

“The processes were served on them on 20th November, 2015, but since then, they have refused, ignored and failed to file any process in defence of the suit,” he said.

“The suit came up before Justice G.O. Kolawole for hearing on the 9th December, 2015 and 10th February, 2016 and on both occasions, hearing notices were served on the senate and the committee but on both occasions, they were absent and unrepresented by legal practitioners. At the proceedings of 10th February, 2016, the application for Interlocutory injunction was heard but in its wisdom, the honourable court decided to give both the senate and the senate committee another chance to come and answer to our client’s suit and the suit was subsequently adjourned till 14th March, 2016 for the senate to respond to our client’s case.

“As a law-abiding police force, you are aware that one of the pillars of our democracy is the respect for the rule of law. By extension, this implies that when matters are pending before a court of law, all parties are expected to maintain status quo pending the determination of the matter. In any event, the senate standing rules are clear to the effect that matters pending before a court of law should not be deliberated upon or discussed on the floor of the senate or any of its committees.

“This is the reason why our client’s case is clearly different from the case of other citizens against whom warrants of arrest have been issued by competent courts of law. Whilst there is no restriction on the powers of a court of law to issue a Warrant of Arrest against anybody who fails to honour its summons, the senate’s own rules forbid it to do anything in respect of matters that are pending in a court of law.

“The conducts of the senate and the committee amount to legislative rascality as they seek to usurp the powers of the judiciary and to undermine its authority.  We most respectfully urge the Nigeria Police Force to await the outcome of the matter pending in court before deciding one way or the other about the enforcement of the said Warrant of Arrest, if eventually issued.”