There was a mild drama at the public hearing organised by the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions on Tuesday, when members engaged in hot arguments with Mr. Festus Keyamo, the lawyer to the former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ibrahim Lamorde, on the panel’s right to invite his client in his private capacity.
The Senate panel nevertheless insisted that Lamorde, who they claimed was deliberately avoiding appearing before it, must make himself available next week Tuesday, November 24 in his own interest.
However, Keyamo opposed the ruling of the Chairman of the Senate committee, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, and insisted that the senators erred by extending invitation to Lamorde after his exit from the anti-graft agency.
He insisted that the senators lacked powers to invite his client to testify because he was no longer the chairman of the anti-graft agency, stressing that he could only be invited now as a witness.
Before the altercation, the Panel chairman had explained that the Senate did not accept representation whenever it invites anybody to appear before it, but that the person so invited, if he or she so wished could come with his lawyers.
A member of the committee, Senator Dino Melaye, said the Senate would make sure, by all legal means possible, protect the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and insisted that no Nigerian was above the law.
He said, “We have invited the former chairman of the EFCC on several occasions. First was on August 26, 2015. We have sent several invitations to him. To my dismay, he is not here again this afternoon and this is not a court of law, where a lawyer can go and defend his client.
“By convention and practice, once you get the summons of the National Assembly, it is imperative, mandatory and obligatory that you must appear. This is contained in Section 89 of the Constitution.”
He said the Senate would have invoked its constitutional powers by summoning Lamorde but for the fact that he was represented by Festus Keyamo, a respected lawyer.
Also, Senator Obinna Ogba, wondered why Lamorde failed to live by example being a man who was a former boss of the anti-graft agency that usually invited people to appear before it.
He said the non-appearance of Lamorde at the probe was an insult, and disrespect to the Senate.
“At the last adjournment, Lamorde wrote a letter to the committee that he was outside the country but behold we saw him in Abuja here. What does that portray? I think enough is enough,” he said.
Senator Tayo Alasoadura also noted that the EFCC under Lamorde had invited him as the Commissioner for Finance in Ondo State and had to honour the invitation.
He said, “Now, he has an invitation from a Senate committee and for about three months, he had been dodging. If we issue a warrant now people will say we are maltreating him because he had an issue with the Senate leadership. This is a fact-finding panel and nobody is interested in persecuting anybody.”
He queried Keyamo’s presence in the Senate on what capacity, being a lawyer to the EFCC? He said the man he claimed to be representing was no longer in office.
Responding to the Senators’ submissions, Keyamo, who asked the committee to give him five minutes to explain himself and put issues in proper perspective, said Lamorde was not present in the Senate and this was not borne out of disrespect to the committee.
He said, “It is a matter of complete misunderstanding of issues at stake. When Lamorde was invited to this committee, he was invited as chairman of EFCC, and between then and now, the circumstances had changed. He is no longer the chairman of EFCC.
“So, because of that, he thought that would be the end of his invitation because he was invited in that capacity. He then handed over the case and travelled for medicals.
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