An Assessment of Anti-Corruption Agencies in Nigeria [601186]

0

An Assessment of Anti-Corruption Agencies in Nigeria

Eric O saro, EKHATOR

PG/MGS1410912

Being a Seminal Paper Pr esented to the Department of Accounting
Faculty of Management of Sciences University of Benin , Benin City ,
in Partial Fulfillment o f the Requirements for the A ward of Master of
Science ( M. sc. ) Degree in Accounting
(Forensic Option)

January, 2017 .

1

Abstract
This study examines anti -corruption agencies in Nigeria. The method employed for
this study was a library research which entails review of both conceptual and empirical
literature which forms the basis for the researcher ‟s conclusion and recommendation s.
Corruption has become a global phenomenon discussed all over the world. The level
of corruption vary from country to country as no country can clearly state that they are
corruption free . This is to state that corruption can only be minimized. Everything
about corruption is always n egative and the world needs to rise up to fight this
menace. For this reason , countries have their own anti -graft agencies for fighting
corruption . Nigeria is one of the countries with high corruption index and this has
resulte d to the slow pace of development in the country. This corruption is mostly seen
among the political class and those working in public office and until the Nigeria ‟s
anti-graft agencies decide to wake up to their responsibility , corruption will continue
to grow to cause more havoc to the economy . For the purpose of this paper, Nigeria‟s
political system was used as a case study.
The study conclude that one cannot explicitly state that the anti -graft agenci es in
Nigeria have fully fought corruption to its ba rest minimum as most o f the corrupt
individual arraign ed before the law court are still pending, many granted bail and
others have be discharge and acquitted. Issues considered in this study include the
concept of corruption , functionary Standard for Anti -Corruption Agencies and a
review of the Nigeria anti-graft agencies and their effecti veness in reducing corruption
which eventually brought this study to an end.
Keywords: Corruption, Government , Anti -graft Agencies, Nigeria.

2

1.0 INTRODUCTION
Corruption has become a major issue being discussed around the globe. No country
can say she is totally free from corruption but the level of corruption varies from
country to country. According to Enweremadu (2012), the last two decades have been
marked by a phenomenal increase in the incidence of corruption in many countries of
the developing world and a growing national and internation al commitment to fight it .
The resulting effect of corruption i n every country is always negative. Due to rising
negativ e effect s of this , countries have put institutions and penalties in place to tackle
this menace .
In Nigeria, corruption has really reduce d the integrity of the country as some countries
in the international community are of the opinion that people living in Nigeria are all
corrupt. Dandago (2008) stated that corruption in N igeria, just as in most other A frican
countries, has currently become the greatest challenge to leaders and citizens,
threatening to undermine effective governmental finan cial management. Corruption
has truly gone to its highest peak in Nigeria. This fact was duly underlined by the
voting of Nigeria as the world‟s most corrupt nation in 1999, just weeks before
Obasanjo was elected (Transparency International & the global corruption watchdog,
1999). This corrupt ion image can be traced back by successive Nigerian governments
before and after 1999 . Some research studies have been unanimous in their conclusion
that in Nigeria corruption has become the norm (Odekunle , 1986; Joseph, 1987;
Lewis , 1996 ; Daloz, 2002 ). Taking a date back as to when corruption really sta rted in
Nigeria, before independence, there have been cases of official misuse of resources for
personal enrichment (Storey, 1953). Ogbeidi (2012) stated that :
The First Republi c under the leadership of Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, the
Prime Minister, and Nnamdi Azikw e, the President, was marked by widespread

3

corruption . Government officials looted public funds with i mpunity. Federal
Represe ntative and Ministers flaunted their wealth with reckless abandon. In fact,
it appeared there were no men of good character in the political leadership of the
First Republic. Politic ally, the thinking of the First Republic Nigerian leadership
class was bas ed on politics for material gain; making money and living well (Pp .
61).
To reduce this menace , there must be this commitment on the government and other
successive government. This they may have done with the commissioning of the
Money laundering act, Independent and Co rrupt P ractice and other related matters act
(ICPC), Economic and Fin ancial Crime Institution (EFCC) to investigate and
prosecute any guilty public office r found corrupt. But h ow has these insti tutions put in
place to fight corruption be efficient and effective in their operati on, can Nigerians
fully sa y we have a country free of corruption, has the rate by the Transparency
International (TI) and the global corruption watchdog on corruption reduce the rating
of Nigeria corruption in thei r index analysis ? As a result of these gaps , this p aper seek s
to assess the fight against corruption , how effective and efficient are the institution s set
up by Nigeria government to fight corruption , Are the y meeting up to the world
standard anti -graft agencies. Also this paper seeks to look holistically if these anti-
graft institution s have really reduce d the rate of corrupt practice s in the country .
2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Concept of C orruption
The word corruption is yet to accept a wide and acceptable definition. This fact is
based on the way countries or individual view the word „corruption ‟ and how it affect s
the society. Most definiti on will state that the corrupt ones are those occupying public
office, does this mean t hat those in the private sector are not corrupt? For proper

4
understandin g of the term „Corruption‟ let‟s look at some known definition s.
Webster‟s Dictionary of the English Language International Edition, stated th at,
“corruption in modern usage connotes debase, decay, rottenness, dishonest and
immoral behavior”. According to the World Bank and Transparency International (TI),
a leading global anti -corruption watchdog, corruption is the abuse of public office for
private gains for the benefit of the holder of the office or some third party. ICPC Act
defines corruption to include “bribery, fraud and other related offences”. The Act went
further to define bribery in section 8 of their act as to mean “money, donation, gift,
loan, fee, reward, valuable security, property or interest in property being property of
any description whether movable or immovable, or any other similar advantage, given
or promised to any person with intent to influence such a person in the perfo rmance or
non-performance of his duties”.
In all these definition s, it can be seen that corruption is something that is totally
rejected in every country as it does not constitute any good. We can therefore sum the
definition s of corruption as to any uneth ical act or conduct e xhibited by a person
empowered with a position of authority either in the private or public sector for
services but use the position in a dishonest way to acquire wealth for himself.
Many factors have been adduced to be the cause of corrup tion i n various countries.
Most of the se are man-made problem because it is the citizenry in a country that
makes a country corrupt , also it is from the same citizen leadership is chosen to
oversee the nation‟s resources . In the word o f Achebe from h is book titled “T he
trouble with Nigeria” he argued,
is simply and squarely a failure of leadership. There is nothing basically
wrong with the Nigerian character. There is nothing wrong with the
Nigerian land, climate, water, air, or anything else. The Nigerian problem is
the unwillingness or inability of its leaders to rise to their responsibility, to

5
the challenge of personal example, which is the hallmark of true leadership
(Achebe, 1984 . Pp. 6)

Researchers like Callaghy (1986), Nukunya (1992), Groenendijk (1997), Ruzindana
(1998), Waliggo (1999), Osei (1999) and Rossouw (1999) traced the root causes of
corruption in Africa to prevalence of dictatorial rules, monetized or materialized
economies, poor economic and educational empowerment of the citizenry, the
“politics of the belly”, making the public sector as the “prime mover” of economic
development and the absence of national ethical and moral values and true patriotism.
According t o Brown (2016), t here is inadequacy in the enforcement of our existing
laws, ineffective control in the award of contracts, absence of rule of law, unregulated
economy and cases of preferential treatment in the conduct of government business.
On the Part o f Sowunmi, Raufi, Oketokun, Salako and Usifo (2010), they attributed
the causes of corruption to be “ Sociological and/or cultural factors such as customs,
family pressures on government officials and ethnicity constitute potential causes of
corruption ”. In all these, the consequences of corruption in a ny country are enormous
and damaging. Apart from bringing the country‟s name into the black book of
corruption, it also limit the numbers of potential “aids” that intend to come into the
country , it create abject poverty thereby leading to insecurity . According to
Maduegbuna (2005) , effects of corruption in Nigeria include loss of government
revenue, negative national image, poor governance, brain drain, electoral malpractices,
poor investment climate, business failure, unemployment and poverty .
2.2 Functionary Standard for Anti -Corruption Agencies
Standard s always serve as a guide in the establishment of any sort which others related
issues are expected to conform with . Before taking a holistic view of Nigeria Anti-
graft agencies, we shall look into the generally acceptable standard provided by
Organization for Economic Co -operation and Development (OECD) .

6

According to Organization for Economic Co -operation and Development (2008),
when considering establishing or strengthening anti -corruption bodies, countries need
to take into consideration the full range of anti -corruption functions, including the
following:
Policy development, research, monitoring and co -ordination. According to OECD,
these functions encompass research of trends and levels of corruption, and assessment
of effectiveness of anti -corruption measures. They further include polic y development
and coordination, including elaboration of anti -corruption strategies and action plans
and monitorin g and co -ordination of implementation measu res.
Prevention of corruption in power structures. OECD stresses that these functions
focus at promoting ethics inside public institutions and include elaboration and
implem entation of special measures concerning public service rules and restrictions,
and administering disciplinary punishment for non -compliance with them. More
specifically, these functions may include prevention of conflict of interest; assets
declaration by public officials, ve rification of submitted information and public access
to declarations. Besides, these function aim to prevent corruption through state
financial control, anti-money laundering measures, mea sures in public procurement
and licensing/permits/certificates syst ems. Finally, prev entive functions aim to
promote transparency of public service and public access to i nformation and ensure
effective control of political party financing.
Education and awareness raising: This area include developing and implementing
educational programs for public, academic institutions and civil servants; organizing
public awareness campaigns; and working with the media, Non-Governmental
Organization s (NGO s), businesses and the public at large.

7
Investigat ion and prosecution: Firstly, these functions aim to ensure a legal
framework for effective prosecution of corruption, including dissuasive sanctions for
all forms of corruption. Secondly, they aim to ensure effective enforcement of anti –
corruption legisla tion throughout all the stages of criminal proceedings, including
identification, investigation, prosecution and adjudication of corruption offences. In
doing so, it is also important to ensure transition betw een criminal and administrative
proceedings. Th irdly, these functions include overseeing interagency co -operation and
exchange of information on specific cases and outside such cases (among law
enforcement bodies and with auditors, tax and customs authorities, the banking sector
and the Financial Intel ligence U nite (FIU), public procurement officials, state security,
and others). Fourthly, these functions include acting as a focal point for mutual legal
assistance and extradition requests. Finally, maintaining, analyzing and reporting law
enforcement st atistics on corruption -related offences is another important function.
The responsibility for the above anti -corruption functions must be clearly assigned to
specific existing or newly created institutions. The standards established by the
international co nventions will probably further accelerate the creation of new
anticorruption bodies.
Independence: This primarily means that the anti -corruption bodies should be
shielded from undue political interference. To this end, genuine political will to fight
corruption is the key prerequisite. Such political will must be embedded in a
comprehensive anticorruption strategy . The level of independence can vary according
to specific needs and conditions. Experience suggests that it is the structural and
operational autonomy that is important, along with a clear legal basis and mandate for
a special body, department or unit. This is particularly important for law enforcement
bodies. Transparent procedures for appointment and removal of the director together

8
with proper human resources management and internal controls are important
elements to prevent undue interference. Independence should not amount to a lack of
accountability ; specialized services should adhere to the principles of the rule of law
and hu man rights, submit regular performance reports to executive and legislative
bodies, and enable public access to information on their work. No single body can
fight corruption alone; interagency co-operation, co-operation with civil societies and
business are important factors to ensure their effective operations.
Specialisation: Anti-corruption bodies implies the availability of specialised staff with
special skills and a specific mandate for fighting corruption . Forms of specialization
may differ from country to country; there is no one successful solution that fits all. For
instance, the Council of Europe Criminal Law Convention on Corruption clarifies the
standard for law enforcement bodies, which can be fulfilled by the creation of a special
body or by the designation of a number of specialized persons within existing
institutions. The study of international trends indicates that in OECD countries
specializ ation is often ensured at the level of existing public agencies and regular law
enforcement bodi es. Transition, emerging and developing countries often establish
separate specialised anti -corruption bodies due to high level of corruption in existing
agencies. In addition, in these countries, creation of separate specialised bodies is often
in respons e to pressure by donor and international organisations.
Resources and powers : These Should be provided to the specialised staff in order to
make their operations effective. Training and budget are the most important
requirements. Another important element required to properly focus the work of
specialized anticorruption bodies is s ometimes, it is useful to limit jurisdiction to
important and high -level cases as well. In addition to specialised skills and a clear
mandate, specialised anticorruption bodies must have sufficient power, such as
investigative

9

capacities and means for gathering evidence ; for instance they must be given legal
powers to carry out covert surveillance, intercept communications, conduct undercover
investigatio ns, access financial data and information systems, monitor financial
transactions, freeze bank accounts, and protect witnesses. The power to carry out all
these functions should be subject to proper checks and balances. Teamwork of
investigators and prosec utors, and other specialists, e.g. financial experts, auditors,
information technology specialists, is probably the most effective use of resources.
2.3 Nigeria n Anti-Corruption Agencies
In the quest to reducing corruption and fraudulent activities in Nigeria, the Nigeria
governments introduce d the War Against Indiscipline (WAI) under the Bu hari
administration on March 20th 1984 under the military regime . The coming of WAI
tried to bring back the lost moral values and civic responsibility into the count ry,
Where soldiers would supervise the activities at bus stop, civil servant faces
punishment for going late to work, 21 years imprisonment is giving to any s tudent
above 17 years who is caught cheating in an examination hall and the likes of others .
But the establishment of WAI did not last the test of time as the tenure of president
Buhari did not establish a strong foundation for its c ontinuity after he was deposed on
27th August 1985 after spending a year and eight months in office (31st December,
1983 – 27th August 1985) . According to Diamond (1991) and Bello -Imam (2004),
successive governments in Nigeria have put in place several anti -corruption measures
and strategies such as Ethical Reorientation Campaign of Shagari‟s Second Republic,
War Against Indiscipline (WAI) of the Buhari/Idiagbon regime, Babangida‟s
Committee on Corruption and other Economic Crimes . After War Against Indiscipline
operation stopped, Successive government in Nigeria paid little o r no attention on
corruption until after 15 years when anothe r anti -corruption agencies was established

10
up on 29th September 2000 under Olusegun Obasanjo regime which is the Independent
and Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC). In taking a
furth er step in fighting corruption, Economic and Financial Crime Commission
(EFCC ) established in 2003 and the Money Lau ndering (Prohibition) Act established
2011 was enacted . These Acts made comprehensive provisions to prohibit the
laundering of the proceeds of a crime an illeg al act, provide appropriate penalties and
expands the interpretation of financial institutions, it also provides scope of
supervision of regulatory authorities on corrupt activities among others (Ademola,
2011).
Since the establishment of these anti -graft agencies, how has corruption reduce in the
country? Can a Nigerian or international community truly state that Nigeira has fought
corruption to its barest minimum? We shall take a closer review of these agencies and
their operations and how they have been efficient and effective in the fight against
corruption.
2.3.1 Independent and Corrupt Practices and Other Rel ated Offences
Commission (ICPC)
As earlier stated the ICPC was established in the year 2000 under formal president
Olusegun Obasanjo to fight corruption and other relate d malpractices after being
sworn in as the first democratic president in the year 1999. The initiation of ICPC
came six months after when president Olusegun Obasanjo sent to bill for the
establishment which he title d Corrupt Practice and Other related Offences Bill to the
second law m aking body which is the Federal House of Representative for
consideration to pass it into law on 13th July, 1999. The first duty of the commission as
indicated in section 6 which is to recei ve complaints, investigate and prosecute
offenders. The bill was needed to give legal backing and enforcement for the creation
of the ICPC to fight the war against corruption in Nigeria. The ICPC act came under

11
some serious criticism as some members of the national assembly claim that it violates
the fundamental human right of the citizen by granting power to the commission to
„invade‟ the privacy of suspects in the course of its investigation, another issue also
raise d by the National assembly against the bill was the immunity clause given to the
presidency, his vice, governors and their deputies not to be investigation or prosecuted
on corruption allegations during their tenure in office. It was as a result of this issue
that the Federal House of Represent ative and the senate refuse to pass the bill and refer
to the bill as „anti -democratic‟. After a year of prolong debate of the ICPC act, it was
finally passed into law in the year 2000. As the Guardian Newspaper stated „The new
anti-corruption law, which e ffectively paved the way for the inauguration of the ICPC,
was subsequently signed into law during a very elaborate ceremony by President
Olusegun Obasanjo, also on 2000 ( The Guardian , 2002).
Corruption cases recorded by ICPC
Prominent Nigerians like Chief Rotimi Williams and Professor Ben Nwabueze, and
some states government vehemently criticize d the act and even went as far as taking
the act to court which they succeeded by the court removing some section s of the act .
On 29th September, 2000, the ICPC was inaugurated with a jurist and former Appeal
Court President Hon. Justice Mustapha Akanbi as chairman. Nevertheless, much cases
were not recorded by the ICPC due to the opposition they faced before and after their
establishme nt. The ICPC had the power in section 27 to 42 to investigate, search, seize
any property which is subject of investigation and also arrest such suspect. One of the
limitations faced by the commission was inability to investigate or persecute any

corruption cases that occurred before 1st September, 2000. Section 61 (2) of the Act
states that such corrupt acts could only be prosecuted by the already existing anti –

12
crime bodies. This made the commission to refer cases to the Federal Director of
Public Prosecutions to various states or the police. Another challenge faced by the
commission was that the ICPC law intentionally removed many criminal act
happening in the banking industry, tax fraud, money laundering etc. Nevertheless
some of the convicted ca ses recorded by ICPC from when it was pass into la w to 2008
is show in table 2 .1.
Table 2.1. Number of persons arraigned, convicted and asset and fund recovered
by ICPC
ISSUES ICPC
Number of persons arraigned 185
Number of persons convicted 20
Value of Asset/Funds received 3.9
SOURCE: ICPC Monitor, Vol. 1, issues, August to October 2008.
As a result of these challenge s faced by the commission , another anti -graft agencies
known as the Economic and Fi nancial Crime Commission (EFCC) was established .
2.3.2 Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC).
Acco rding to Enweremadu (2012), EFCC was first proposed by a 2002 law, the
Economic and Financial Crimes Act 2002, but came into existence only on 11 April
2003. The chairman of the EFCC must post at least 15 years of experience acquired in
a reputable security Institution and is nominated by the president and confirm by the
senate. O ther of its members must include the heads or their representatives of the
Central Bank of Nigeria (CB N), the Ministries of Fore ign Affairs, Finance, and
Justice. Others included are from the NDLEA, National Intelligence Agency (NIA),
State Security Services (SSS), Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Securities and

Exchange Commission of Nigeria (SEC), Nigerian Deposit Insurance C orporation
(NDIC), Nigerian Insurance Commission (NIC), Nigerian Postal Service (NPS),

13
National Communications Commission (NCC), Nigerian Customs Service,
Immigration, and the Nigerian Police Force.
The coming of the EFCC Act did not face much criticism unlike the ICPC and this
gave much head way to the EFCC to conduct investigation into crimes of financial and
economic matter s and also prosecute any fraudster including in the banking industry.
According to Section 6 of the Act, they can investigate illegal act such as 419, money
laundering, counterfeiting, capital and market fraud, cyber -crimes, credit -card frauds,
contract frauds, and terror ism and terrorism financing. In same section 6, it also
authorize the EFCC to identify, monitor, freeze or confiscate proceeds both funds and
properties from criminal activities such as terrorism, financial and economic crimes.
The EFCC can investigate financial crime committed before and after its establishment
at both the public and private sector and can also collaborate with other anti -graft
institution abroad and to work in close relationship with the police, immigration
Central Bank of Nigeria, customs, Navy, Code of Conduct Bureau, National Agency
of Fo od and Drug s Agencies Control (NAFDAC) and other simi lar institution.
Corruption cases recorded by EFCC
In the quest of fighting corruption which has become a source of embarrassment to the
integrity to the country, the EFCC recorded had alot of corrupt ion cases . Some of
these recorded cases are:
1. Senator Chuba Okadigbo found out among other things that he was involved in
the inflation of the street light project to the tune of 173 million Naira;
Okadigbo also authorized the payment of 372 million naira to furnish his
residence with a sum estimated above 25 million naira and equally installed

and commissioned a 100KVA generating set of the Senate President residence
at an inflated amount of 15 million Na ira (Ogundiya, 2012).

14
2. Another notable case was the one of Senator Chimaroke Nnamani. According
to Vanguard Newspaper (2008), Chimaroke Nnamani faced 124 count charges
of fraud, conspiracy, concealment and money laundering amounting to about
5.4 billion nai ra (Vanguard Newspaper, Saturday, 2008).
Other notable cases arraigned before the court by E FCC are indicated in the table 2 .2
below
Table 2 .2.
S/N Name of the
Suspect Position held
by the
Suspect Cash Involve
N The arraigned
case Verdict of the
Cases
1. Iyabor
Obasanjo Former
Senator 10 Billion 56 Count
Charges Case Pending,
granted bail
since 2008
2. Ayo Fayose Formal
Governor of
Ekiti State 1.2 Billion 51 count
Charges. Case pending,
Granted bail.
3. Lucky
Igbinedion Former
Governor of
Edo State 4.3 Billion 56 state counts
charges Case decided,
order to pay
$25 million as
fine.
4. Prof.
Babalola
Borishade Former
Minister of
Aviation
5.6 Billion 11 state court
charges. Case Pending,
Granted bail
since 2008.
5. Femi
Fanikayode
Former
Governor of
Adamawa state 250 Million 47 state count
charge Case pending,
Granted bail
since 2008
6. James Ibori Formal
Governor of
Delta state 9.2 Billion 170 court
charges. Case pending,
granted bail.
7. Saminu Turaki Former
Governor
Jigawa state 36 Billion 32 count
charges Case
pending,granted
bail.
8. Gabriel Aduku Former
Minister of
Health 300 Million 191 State Count
Charge. Discharge and
acquitted

9. Kenny Martins Police
Equipment
Fund 7740 Billion 28 count
charge. Case pending
granted bail
since 2008.

10. Michael
Botmang Former
Governor of
Plateau state 1.5 Billion 31 state count
charge. Case pending,
granted bail
since 2008.

11. Rasheed
Ladoja
Former
Governor of
Oyo state 6 Billion 68 State count
charge. Case pending,
granted bail
since 2008.
12. Chimaroke
Nnamani Former
Governor of
Enugu state 5.3 Billion 105 State count
charge. Case pending,
granted bail
since 2007.
SOURCE: Economic and Financial C rime Commission (EFCC) EFCC.org

15
It is quite unfortunate that those entrusted with state resources to better the life of its
citizen to provide for social goods will embezzle such fund . In total, cases arraign ed,
convicted and amount recovered are sated in table 2 .3.
The Table 2 .3 below shows the effort by the EFCC and cases convicted
ISSUES EFCC
Number of persons arraigned 300+
Number of persons convicted 145
Value of asset/fund received N725billion
SOURCE: EFCC Magazine, Vol. 3. No. 2, August 2008

Despite all these effort and establishment of anti -graft agencies put in place by formal
president Obasanjo, corruptio n has continued to grow rapidly . According to the
Human Right Watch (2007), some western diplomats had the belief that Nigeria lost
between $4 billion and $8 billion per year to corruption during the eight years of
Obasanjo‟s administration. This has made Nigeria who is the giant of Africa to be
blacklisted in the eyes of the international communities. According to Brown (2016),
Internationally, Nigeria has been blacklisted as a State in which, integrity and
transparency are a lien and where no transactions occur without corruption.
In taking a review of the Nigeria Anti -graft agencies being compare d to the
international standard using OECD as a case study, one will discover that there are still
some lapses in the Nigeria anti -graft agencies. One of which is neither the EFCC nor
ICPC have be en able to build a strong Ethical conduct in the public institution . In this,
Alabi (2010 , Pp. 24 ) suggested that “ One major component of these reform efforts is
the need to build integrity, ethics and professionalism into the public service”. They
have not also raise d enough awareness campaign against corruption among the adult
and younger ones and they ought to be so me form of subject that educate student s on

the negative effect of corruption in the economy . Another issue here is the issue of
independence of operation. The EFCC and ICPC cannot fully state that they have

16
independence as they still experience some for m of interference and control among the
political elites. T here has been no transparency in the pu blic sector . There have not be
proper follow up of punishment of those found guilty of corruption. The EFCC is yet
to do something about the N311 billion Naira that was missing in the Nigerian
National Petroleum corporation (NNPC) . Also the financial scam that the former
speaker of the House of Representatives, Honourable Dimeji Bankole was never heard
after it was raised. The Nigeria‟s 2011 Cor ruption Index by the EFCC maintains that
Nigeria is certainly not immune to corruption (Mohammed, 2013). Does this make
Nigeria anti -graft agencies to be a true fighter of corruption or encourager of
corruption? Most of this suspect goes scot free when they are supposed to be in prison.
In the case of James Ibori, he was granted bail by the Nigeria Supreme Court but
found guilty and jailed by the United Kingdom court for money laundering . These has
really sent a bad signal to the internat ional community that Nigeria is yet to really
combat thi s menace called corruption that have reduce d the living standard of its
citizenry. This also calls for a total reform of the Nigeria court system to stand aright
especially in cases that involve corru ption because there is where cases involving
corruption are judged . There is also poor funding of the anti -graft agencies in Nigeria.
Ademola (2011) stated:
The agencies had been poorly funded and there were evidences of lack of
political will by the cru saders to actualize an objective anti -corruption
campaigns apart from this, the fight has been of sided,, vindictive, selective,
biased, one -sided and meretricious/falsely attractive (Pp. 24)
It will be stated here that despite all these lapses, the fight against corruption is still on.
Since 2004, Nigeria has taken significant steps toward complying with the Extractive
Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), including conducting comprehensive audits
of the petroleum sector (World Bank, 2006). The Yar‟adua/Jonathan administration

17
also added the Public Procurement Act and the due process office, i.e. the E -payment
(since January, 2009) and the e -procurement (since 2008) to improve transparency in
public procurements (Ademola, 2011). Also, the present government which was sworn
in on May 29th 2015 under Buhari administrat ion is making drastic effort in fighting
corruption in the public sector . Just recently, the EFCC arrested ministry of
environment officer for fraud as EFCC report (2016) that “one Tar iah Otumba Fred, a
staff of the Federal Minister of Environment in Bayelsa State for allegedly being a
serial fraudster”. The ICPC have also arraign the formal Minister of Niger Delta
Affairs, Elder Godsday Orubebe, before a Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High court ,
in Maitama District, Abuja, over alleged N1.97 billion fraud (Alli, 2016). In all these,
effort must be geared toward having a formidable policies that will reduce the
increasing rate of corruption in Nigeria. Building a good ethical value in the public
sector must be built in respect of these. According to Alabi (2010), one major
component of these reform efforts is the need to build integrity, ethics a nd
professionalism into the public service.
3.0 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION S
From the paper s review ed, it was discovered that every aspect of corruption is
negative, apart from reducing the living standard of the citizen, it also paint s Nige ria
as a corrupt nation and reduce the perso nality of the corrupt individual. Nigeria as a
country though erected some anti -graft agencies like the ICPC and EFCC to address
the issue of corruption but from the finding s of this paper, it clearly shows that these
agencies are yet to effective ly combat this mena ce as some corrupt individual s
especially ex -governor s who are supposed to be serving jail term were granted bail.
For this reason, it is hereby recommended that the fight of corruption should take the
followin g shape :

18
1. Fighting corruption should start from the grass root by introducing anti-
corruption as a cour se from primary school student to the university level .
2. They should remove immunity clause and all gui lty individual s, no matter how
highly plac ed, if found guilty of corrupt case should be prosecuted. As this will
serve as a serious warning to other perpetrators.
3. Establishing a division of EFCC as a branch that focuses not only on
politicians and civil servant but also in the University, banks etc. this will
serve as a proactive measure to corruption and also insert fear to ste al in the
various institution s. Also companies should be encouraged to have at least a
forensic accountant as a staff.
4. Independence: The anti -graft agencies may not function effe ctive ly if they are
not given the free hand to operate. By independence, I me an there should not
be interference or control from the political elite. It is therefore suggested that
independence of o peration should be given to the anti -graft agencies to operate.
5. There should be proper funding of the anti -graft agencies as this will enable
them to carry out their function s and adequate training should be provided to
enhance their operation.
6. Lastly , there should be total reform of the Nigeria judicial system to ensure that
true justice prevails and various loophole s for easy access to steal should be
blocked.

Reference s
Achebe, C. (1984). The Trouble with Nigeria. Oxford: Heinemann Educational
Publishers.

19
Ademola , A. (2011). Endangering good governance for sustainable democracy: The
continuity struggle against corruption in Nigeria. Journal of R esearch in
Peace, Gender and Development, 1 (11), 307 – 314.

Alabi O. M. (2010). Extra -territorial a pproach to anti -corruption, integrity and public
service ethics in Africa: A review of frameworks and implementation
challenges. Journal of Alternative Perspectives in the Social Sciences, l 2 (2),
495-522.

Alli, Y. (2016). Alleged fraud: Icpc arraign Orubebe, two others. Retrieved from
http:/www.thenationsonlineng/alleged -fraud -icpc-arraign -orubebe -two-others.

Bello -Imam, I.B. (2004). Corruption and National Development. In: Bello -Imam, I.B.
and M. Obadan , (Eds.), Democratic Governance and Development
Management in Nigeria‟s Fourth Republic. Ibadan: Centre for Local
Government and Rural Development Studies, pp: 199 -203.

Brown, G. M. (2016). Anti-corruption Organs and the Fight against Corruption in
Nigeri a. International Journal of Ergonomics and Human Factors, 12 (2), 84 –
95.

Callaghy, T. (1986). Politics and Vision in Africa: The Interplay of Dominion,
Equality and Liberty. In: Chabal , P. (Ed.), Political Domination in Africa:
Reflections on the Limits of Power. Cambridge. Cambridge University Press.

Daloz, J.P. (2002), Elites et representations politiques: La culture de l’échange
inégalau Nigeria . Pessac: Presses Universitaires de B ordeaux.

Diamond, L. (1991). Political corruption: Nigeria‟s per ennial struggle Democracy,
2(4) 73-85.

Dandago, K.I. (2008). The constitutional fight against corruption in Nigeria: Is it
enough? I nt. J. Govt. Finance Manage. (8) 61-70.

Economic and F inancial Crime Commission. (2016). Efcc arrest minister of
environment of ficial for fraud. Retrieve from https://efcc
Nigeria.org/efcc/index:php/news/2063 -efcc-arrest -ministry -of-environment –
official -for-fraud.

Enweremadu , D. (2012). Anti -corruption campaign in Nigeria(1999 -2007): Policy of a
failed reform. 1 -218.
http://www.transparency.org/policy_research/surveys_indices/cpi (last
accessed 15/01/09).

Groenendijk, N.S. (1997). A Principle Agent Model of Corruption. Crime Law Social.
27, 217 -218.

Human Right Watch. (2007). Corruption Trial? The Record of Nigeria‟s Economic
and Financial Crime Commission, New York.

20
Joseph, R. (1987), Democracy and prebendal politics in Nigeria: The rise and fall of
the Second Republic . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Lewis, M. P. (1996). From prebendalism to predation: Political economy of decline in
Nigeria”, Journal of Modern African Studies , 34 (1), 79-103.

Maduegbuna, N. (2005). Anti -corruption in Nigeria: Public communications
perspective. Corporate Mirror, 1(10), 16 -18.

Mohammed, U. (2013). Corruption in Nigeria: a challenge to sustainable development
in the fourth republic. European Scientific Journal, 9 (4) 118 -137.

Nukunya, G.K. (1992). Tribalism, Bribery and Corruption. Tradition and Change in
Ghana, Accra : Ghana University Press.

Odekunle, F. ( Ed.). (1986). Nigeria: corruption in development . Ibadan: Ibadan
University Press.

Ogbeidi, M. (2012). Political Leadership and Corruption in Nigeria Since 1 960: A
Socio -economic Analysis. 1(2), 1 -25.

Osei, J. (1999). Fraud and Traditional African Ethics. In: Rossouw, G.J. and D .
Carabine (Eds.), Fraud and the African Renaissance. Kampala. UMU Press, pp:
25-41.

Rossouw, G.J. (1999). Defining and Understandi ng Fraud. In: Rossouw, G.J. and D.
Carabine, (Eds.), Fraud and the African Renaissance, Kampala. UMU Press,
pp: 13 -24.

Ruzindana, A. (1998). Cooruption Must be Made More Risky: Sunday Vision,
Uganda, August 16th, pp: 9.

Sowunmi, F. A., Raufu,A.A., Oketok un, F. O., Salako, M. A., and Usifoh, O. O.
(2010). The Role of Media in Curbing Corruption in Nigeria, Research Journal
of Information Technology 2 (1), 7 -23.

Storey, B. (1953). Report of the Commission of Inquiry into the Administration of
Lagos Town Council. Lagos: Government Printer

Transparency International (1999), Corruption Perception Index. Berlin.

Waliggo, J.M., 1999. The Historical Roots of Unethical Economic Practices in A frica.
In: Kampala, G.J., Rossouw and D. Carabine (Eds.), Fraud a nd the African
Renaissance. UM U Press, pp: 43 -53.

World Bank (2006). “Nigeria: Fiscal Agenda for Change: Public Expenditure.
Management and Financial Accountability Review”, Draft Report, No. 36496
– NG.

21