Last week’s disclosure by the Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Dr. Musa Adamu Aliyu, that the agency recovered assets worth N116.27 billion from January to December this year is reflective of the anti-graft agency’s stance in denying oxygen to corruption. In his keynote address at the Close-Out/Award Ceremony of the ICIR Open Contract Reporting Project (OCRP) last week, the ICPC Chairman further said that between 2019 and 2023, the sum of N50.366 billion was recovered from contractors who abandoned project sites. In addition to some of the funds recovered from the abandoned projects, according to Dr. Aliyu, which were done through its Constituency and Executive Projects Tracking Initiative (CEPTI), many contractors, who had abandoned the jobs, were forced to return to sites.
Speaking during the 6th phase of the exercise that is currently ongoing, the ICPC chairman, who said that total asset recoveries from January 2024 till date stood at the sum of N116, 270bn, lamented that corruption has consistently eroded public trust, hindered development, and undermined the collective aspirations of
According to him, “Corruption as a cankerworm is very fundamental to state that corruption diverts resources from the poor to the rich, increases the cost of running businesses, distorts public expenditures and deters foreign investors. It is a major barrier to sound and equitable development in a nation. Corruption, at its core, is an abuse of entrusted power for personal gain, which often manifests in the form of bribery, embezzlement, nepotism, and fraud. It thrives in both public and private spheres, permeating various sectors and institutions”.
Established in 2000 by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, the ICPC came into existence with the mandate to combat corruption and exit Nigeria from the 1999 Transparency International Corruption Perception Index that placed the country as the second most corrupt nation in the world. Though the virus of corruption is a global phenomenon whose spread has become pervasive in the country, the mandates of the ICPC includes, among others, to investigate, prosecute and prevent corruption through the review of negligent operational systems in ministries, agencies, and parastatals. The commission is also expected to educate the public on the dangers of corruption and enlisting citizens to support the fight against corruption.
Nearly 24 years after its establishment, the ICPC has been at the forefront of fighting corruption that has become a malignant cancer and gradually becoming the nation’s operating system. Corruption, despite being a global malaise, has spread its harrowing footprints on many sectors of national life and leaves behind frightening uncertainty on Nigeria’s future, thus making the dream of development in Nigeria a forlorn and weary exercise despite the country’s vast ocean of human and natural resources. The inability to realise the dream of developing the economy and lift millions of citizens from the bottomless pit of poverty has been hinged on the incapacitating impacts of rot permeating various sectors of national life, with even religious institutions and gatekeepers that serve as the conscience of the nation not immune to the destructive cancer of corruption.
The Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act 2000 (Act 2000) was a decisive effort against corruption, including adopting a holistic mechanism in the form of a holistic approach comprising enforcement, prevention and educational measures. The recent increase in asset seizures and unrelenting efforts by the commission to push harder measures in fighting corruption remains not only an inspiring feat, but also an exercise that should be emulated and attract public commendation. Despite over 400 corruption cases instituted in various Nigerian high courts, the agency refused to give up as it continued to beam searchlights on the public service in order to rein in perpetrators of corruption.
Worried by the incidence of delayed completion of corruption trials, some have called for the setting up of special courts to try persons involved in corruption cases. To ensure speedy completion of these cases, some have suggested that timelines be provided for the duration of such trials in order to avoid a situation where persons accused of corruption take advantage of certain technicalities to escape from the long arm of justice. A situation where accused persons involved in corruption weaken the judicial process for many years should be sidestepped in order to guarantee quick prosecution and ensure these trials are completed within the shortest possible time.
We commend the resolve of the ICPC in not giving up against long and windy judicial processes that most times wear out prosecutors and impede prosecution of persons undergoing corruption trials. What is needed now is to set up special courts that will enhance prompt trial of corruption cases. Prosecuting accused persons over corruption in our normal courts is fraught with delays. Blueprint calls on the National Assembly to, in collaboration with stakeholders, approve the setting up of special courts to try corruption cases. Nigeria must avoid a situation where the court becomes an impediment against speedy completion of corruption cases.