The Executive Chairman of the Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Ola Olukoyede, has paid tribute to the former chairman of the commission, Mr. Ibrahim Lamorde.

Lamorde died at the weekend in Egypt where he was undergoing medical treatment. The retired Deputy Inspector General of Police died at the age of 61.

Olukoyede described Lamorde’s passing as painful.

The EFCC chairman described Lamorde as soldier of anti-corruption, refined officer, disciplined, unassuming, amiable, compassionate but professional.

President Bola Tinubu, Senate President Godswill Akpabio, the Inspector General of Police, the Police Service Commission and others have mourned the death of Lamorde.

In his tribute made available to The Star on Monday, May 27, 2024, Olukoyede wrote:

“I was deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Mr. Ibrahim Lamorde, retired Deputy Inspector General of Police and one of my predecessors as Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), between 2012 and 2015.

“The loss of this distinguished law enforcement officer whose ideals and accomplishments we have long respected, is painful coming at a time the EFCC and indeed Nigeria still needed his wealth of experience to deal with emerging challenges in the law enforcement environment.

“His footprints in the Nigeria Police and the EFCC where he spent his most productive years, first as Director of Operations and later as Acting Chairman and Executive Chairman, will remain indelible. Indeed, the story of the Commission cannot be told without a reference to Lamorde who invested his talent as an investigator in setting up the investigation machinery of the Commission and mentoring the corps of officers who are today the spine of the Commission’s investigative activities.

Tinubu mourns ex-EFCC chairman Lamorde

“He was a refined officer, disciplined, unassuming, amiable, compassionate but professional. He was also a reformist and his legacy in the Commission include the establishment of the professional responsibility arm of the Commission, the Department of Internal Affairs, which was recently renamed the Department of Ethics and Integrity, to police officers of the Commission, and the Department of Public Affairs to drive the Commission corruption prevention mandate.

“Lamorde also renamed EFCC’s Training and Research Institute, Karu as the EFCC Academy with an expanded mandate to train all cadre of officers of the Commission and other law enforcement agencies in Nigeria and. Indeed, Africa. Under his stewardship the EFCC Academy became the centre for anti- corruption training in West Africa.

“All of us in the EFCC feel deeply the loss of this soldier of anti-corruption. Our hearts are with his family and all those whose lives he impacted in his remarkable career. We share your bereavement in the loss of this icon. You can be assured that our thoughts and prayers are with you in your grief.

“The memory of Lamorde’s lifetime as a police officer and statesman in the service of the highest ideals will remain a legacy of inspiration to us all.”

The Star