Erstwhile Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related Offences Commission, ICPC, Justice Emmanuel Ayoola (rtd.), has highlighted multiple establishments of anti-graft agencies as what Nigeria requires to win the fight against corruption in Nigeria.
He noted that rather than government proceeding to merge the ICPC with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, the anti-graft agencies should be better funded.
Ayoola, spoke in Lagos on Thursday at the 2015 edition of the annual public lecture organised by the Punuka Attorneys and Solicitors, where he served as the chairman of the public lecture with the theme “Anti-Corruption and Bribery Laws: Extra-Territorial Applications and Lessons for Businesses and Government Agencies.”
The retired justice of the Supreme Court noted that the fight against corruption is “a running battle,” which must be backed with urgent commitment of resources and steadfast campaign.
He identified factors militating against the anti-corruption war in the country to include: lack of political will and commitment, whittling of the capacity of anti-corruption agencies through denial of resources, inadequate legal framework and citizens’ indifference.
He called for a holistic approach to the anti-corruption war, including citizens’ active participation. Ayoola said the government needed to realise that the modalities of criminality do not remain static and must be ready to review its strategies in keeping with evolving criminal trends.
“Nigeria must be ready to revise and reform the totality of the legal framework in relation to the fight against corruption to facilitate result-oriented fight and engender inclusive and popular fight.
“As the strategies of criminality become more sophisticated, agencies set up to fight such must keep up with whatever becomes a developing trend,” he said.
Ayoola further urged the citizenry to move beyond paying lip service and sitting on the fence but to participating with enthusiasm in the fight against corruption, noting that, “Nigeria’s perception of the fight against corruption is strong in sentiment and emotion but abysmally weak in action and commitment.
“As long as we, at all levels of society, pay lip service to the fight against corruption, it will take longer to rout it in our nation,” the former ICPC boss added.
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