Skip to main content

Five (5) Reasons that Justify the Establishment of ICPC in Nigeria

By

INTRO: The rationale behind the creation of the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) is for investigation, prosecution and prevention of corruption in the public offices in Nigeria towards achieving a Nigeria free from all forms of corruption. The anti-graft institution is a strategy for conscious state actions in the implementation of international conventions against corruption, such as the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC), and also an approach to laundering the shameful image of  Nigeria as a "fantastically corrupt country".  President Olusegun Aremu Obasanjo inaugurated the Commission which prides herself as the apex anti-graft institution in Nigeria, on September 29, 2000 after the Commission was established by the Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Act 2000 signed into law on June 13, 2000.  The ICPC establishment Act features among other things independence of the Commission, powers of the officers of the Commission, and the duties and responsibilities of the Commission. These provisions in the Act speak volumes about the reasons for establishing the Commission, as well as their functions by the Federal Government of Nigeria. 

In this discussion, the identifiable reasons according to the ICPC Act of June 13, 2000 that justify the establishment of ICPC in Nigeria are as follows:

 

1. Receiving and Investigating Complaints against Corrupt Persons in Nigeria: First and foremost, ICPC was established for receiving and launching investigations into complaints and allegations of corruption in Nigeria.  To that effect, the Commission kept open lines of communication including these toll-free lines: 0803-123-0280, 0803-123-0281, 0803-123-0282, 0705-699-0190, 0705-699-0191 and 0800-CALL-ICPC (0800-2255-4272), for complaints by the Nigerian public against corrupt persons in both private and administrative circles, and for whistle-blowing the whereaboutsof wanted persons. The ICPC investigates and verifies such complaints for prosecution. In the instance where the suspect is on the run, he or she is declared wanted and the mugshots would be posted on the ICPC website.

 

2.     Preventing Corruption: Proactively, ICPC was created because of the imperatives of prevention of corruption in Nigeria. This is a way of saying that a mission to a corrupt-free is also approached via preventive measures. Prevention they say, is better than cure. The Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission proactively identifies corruption-prone systems especially in the administrative circles and supervise the implementation of measures for corrections. The practice of examining and identifying lax administrative systems is called System Study. In one of their routine system studies of Ministries, Departments and Parastatals (MDAs), ICPC studied the Federal Cooperative College, Kaduna, and found the establishing Act of the institution wanting about issues including how the college is to be governed and tenure of the officers of the institution. 

 

3.     Prosecuting Corrupt Officials and Individuals in Nigeria: The prosecution role of the ICPC is also known as the enforcement role. This prosecution role however is provided by the ICPC Act to must have to only be done by the consent of the Attorney General of the Federation, and that the Chief Judge of a state or the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) shall designate the judges to hear the corruption cases. Today, there are two of such judges in each state of the Federation, and FCT. In the recent times in one of their prosecutions, ICPC approached the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja against one Mr Apeh Samuel Akogu of the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing who allegedly collected a corrupt gift of 820,000 Naira from a contractor to help him in facilitation of his payment from the Ministry. The Court acquitted the accused saying that the gift was not collected while he discharged his official duties.  The dissatisfied ICPC approached the Court of Appeal, and the judgement was quashed, in which the accused was sentenced to 7 years with an option of fine, and mandate of restitution.

 

4.     Ensuring Sustainable Campaigns against Corruption and other Related Offences in the Country: Corruption in Nigeria has deep roots so that a sustained campaign is germane in dismantling it. The truth is that even those without records of corruption in Nigeria are potentially corrupt. This shows that values need to be fundamentally reorientated. The establishment of ICPC makes certain the sustainability of campaigns against corruption. In this regard, Public Enlightenment and Education Department (PEED) is part of the ICPC. This Department has in performance of their duties established School of Anti-Corruption Clubs (SACs) to enlighten the younger generations and enlist them into the fight against corruption in Nigeria.

 

5.     Enlisting the People in the Fight against Corruption: The ubiquity of corruption in Nigeria suggests the need for massive participation of the people in the fight against it. This is needful also as corruption tends to fight back when one fights it. Popular power in this regard becomes imperative in combating corruption in Nigeria. In this regard, ICPC was established in order to facilitate the enlistment of Nigerians in achieving a Nigeria free from all forms of corruption. 

 


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Seven (7) Reasons for the Adoption of Federalism in Nigeria

By
INTRO: Federalism has been approached with variegated definitions to the extent that one might argue that there are as much definitions of federalism as there are authors on the subject. This notwithstanding, the concept of federalism boasts of a very popular definition by an American scholar, K.C. Wheare who contends that it is a system where powers are shared between central and regional governments so that each is in a sphere cordinate and independent. Reasons for the adoption of federalism in Nigeria include: 1. The Plural nature of Nigeria : Nigeria is a plural society of over 250 tongues and tribes. Besides the Big Three - Igbo, Hausa and Yoruba, there are other macro and micro ethnic minorities in the country. Federalism was favoured among other systems of government in a bid to allay both fancied and real fears of domination among the minorities. 2. The Size of Nigeria : This is another reason for the adoption of federalism in Nigeria. With the total area of...
98 comments
READ 💯 HERE

Seven (7) Reasons for the Colonization of Nigeria

By
INTRO: Colonialism is a consistent theme in the history of Africa. It laces through the formative tapestry of the majority of African states today, Nigeria inclusive. Colonialism as a concept could be seen from different perspectives. Generally however, it may be defined as the practice or policy of controling a weaker nation by a stronger nation especially for socio-economic and political gains. The territory known today as Nigeria was colonized by Britain. The reasons for the colonization of Nigeria are  simply the same with the rest of African countries. In his masterpiece, "How Europe Underdeveloped Africa," Walter Rodney stated that Europe came to Africa with three Bs: Business, Bible and Bullet. These items represent perfectly the reasons for the notorious European incursion into the pristine and tranquil African continent, which are broadly categorized as economic, socio-political and religious reasons. A. Economic Reasons 1) Search for Raw Material : The ...
34 comments
READ 💯 HERE

Nine (9) Reasons for the Adoption of Indirect Rule in Nigeria by Britain

By
INTRO:  The British colonial administrative policy in Nigeria known as the indirect rule was devised and adopted by the renowned British colonial officer, Lord Lugard, (although, there were semblances of the policy before Lugard). Lord Lugard was appointed the High Commissioner of the Northern Protectorate in 1900 following the revocation of the royal charter in the same year. The royal charter was given to the Royal Niger Company (RNC) in 1888 by the British government, to act on behalf of the government, chiefly towards instituting effective occupation in the colonies, as resolved in the Berlin Conference of 1884/85. Simply put, indirect rule is an administrative system in which the British colonial officials administered Nigeria through the intermediaries, the native authorities. According to Murray (1973, p. 1), indirect rule was an administrative policy that utilized native customs, traditions, institutions and people by fitting them into the British framework of colonial ad...
3 comments
READ 💯 HERE

Seven (7) Reasons for and Causes of Political Apathy in Nigeria

By
INTRO:  Simply put, political apathy means lack of interest in politics, i.e. the activities of the state. More often than not, voter apathy is used interchangeably with political apathy. The interchangeable usage is understandable because voting is the hallmark of political participation, but then, it is careless to do so. As a matter of fact, every voter apathy is political apathy, but not every political apathy is voter apathy. Voter apathy is a subset of political apathy, together with other subsets of political apathy such interest apathy, and information apathy. A voter apathetic person does not go to cast vote in an election, interest apathetic person does not show interest in political activities such as referendum, demonstration, or rally, etc., and information apathetic person does not go for political news, or engage in political discussion. From the foregoing, it is observable that political apathy is the opposite of political participation. Democracies all over the wor...
34 comments
READ 💯 HERE

Seven (7) Reasons for and Factors of the Nationalist Struggle in Nigeria

By
INTRO:   Nationalism has semantic nuances which range from patriotism to struggle for independence. As a matter of fact, all attitudes and actions for preservation of national identity and/or achievement of political independence are nationalism. Thus, xenophobia, ethnicity, terrorism, irredentism, separatism, and similar issues, all things being equal, are nationalist in nature. The term “nationalism” therefore is generally used to describe two phenomena : (i)          the attitude that the members of a nation have when they care about their national identity, and (ii)        the actions that the members of a nation take when seeking to achieve (or sustain) self-determination. Nationalism in Nigeria was directed against the colonial masters, first by the notable Nigerian chiefs who resisted, although unsuccessful, the loss of the sovereignty of their kingdoms, chiefdoms, and societies. Worthy of mention was ...
1 comment
READ 💯 HERE

Nine (9) Reasons for the Creation of Local Government in Nigeria  

By
INTRO :  The nature and character of l ocal government in Nigeria today (except for few infractions) is largely the product of the 1976 Local Government Reform by the Murtala/Obasanjo regime. The Reform is marked with bringing uniformity to the cacophony and disharmony that once reigned on local government system in Nigeria. In the 1976 Local Government Reform Guidelines, the Federal Government of Nigeria defined local government as “Government at local levels exercised through representative councils established by law to exercise specific powers within defined areas.” The powers which the local representative councils can exercise within their jurisdiction are local affairs “(including staffing) and institutional and financial powers to initiate and to determine and implement projects so as to compliment the activities of the state and federal government in their areas, and ensure through devolution of functions to those councils and through the active participation of the people...
5 comments
READ 💯 HERE

Five (5) Reasons for the January 15 1966 Coup in Nigeria

By
INTRO:   The January 15, 1966 military coup in Nigeria happened because of corruption by the officials, Western Nigeria crisis, intention to install Awolowo as the Head of State, the domino effect from coups outside Nigeria, and personal ambition of the coup plotters for joining the army. It was the first military coup in Nigeria. In its simplest terms, coup d'etat can be defined as the unconstitutional and violent overthrow of an incumbent government, especially, by the armed forces. Coup d'etat is more often than not, treated with scorn in the international comity of nations perhaps because it is believed that military in politics is an aberration. Nigeria, this central disapproval of military rule notwithstanding, has witnessed several coups and counter coups starting from January 15, 1966 when the military made its debut in the politics of the country. The coup toppled the coalition government of Northern Peoples Congress (NPC) and National Congress of Nigerian Citizens ...
4 comments
READ 💯 HERE

Authors Give the Reasons Why Students Join Cults in Nigeria

By
Cultism in Nigeria is a pervasive social issue deeply entrenched in the nation’s socio-economic and cultural fabric. This phenomenon, particularly widespread in educational institutions, neighborhoods, and even political arenas, is marked by violent behaviors, initiation rites, and criminal activities. Its origins, as documented, trace back to 1952 with the establishment of the Seadog Confraternity (also known as the Pirates) by Nobel Laureate Professor Wole Soyinka and six others at the University of Ibadan . Initially set up as a peaceful and non-violent confraternity, it later evolved into secret cults characterized by violence and bizarre rituals. Today, cultism has morphed into a significant challenge in Nigeria, driven by a range of factors that appeal to different segments of the population. One of the primary reasons students join cults is peer pressure and social influence. In schools, students often face immense pressure from friends or acquaintances to join cult groups, esp...
1 comment
READ 💯 HERE

Six (6) Reasons for the Relocation of Nigeria's Capital City from Lagos to Abuja

By
INTRO:   Several countries of the world have experimented with changing of the location of their capital cities. Countries such as Brazil moved her capital city from Rio de Janeiro to the built-for-the-purpose Brasilia in 1961; Kazakhstan moved from Almaty to Astana in 1997; and Cote d'Ivoire moved from Abijan to Yamoussoukro in 1983. In the year 1991, Nigeria joined the ranks of countries that for one reason or another relocated their capital cities when she moved her capital city from Lagos to Abuja.   The move was initiated in 1975 by the military government of General Murtala Mohammed when he set up a 7-man panel under the chairmanship of Dr. Akinola Aguda to examine the issue of a new capital city for Nigeria. The panel after  their studies recommended Abuja and the military government under Decree No. 6 of 1976 established the Federal Capital Development Authority to midwife the planning, designing and developing of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). The ...
1 comment
READ 💯 HERE

Nine (9) Reasons for and Causes of the Electoral Malpractices in Nigeria

By
INTRO : One of the features of the Nigerian democracy is periodic elections which come at the intervals of four years. Hence, there were general elections in Nigeria in 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2019, and 2023 as at the time of this article. There are many component elections in a general election viz.: Presidential election, gubernatorial elections (i.e. governorship elections), National Assembly elections (i.e. the elections of the members of the Houses of Representatives and Senate), and State Assembly elections (i.e. the elections of the members of Houses of Assembly of the States of the Federation). Since 1999, electoral malpractices have tainted these variegated elections in Nigeria. Electoral malpractices simply mean “illegalities committed by government, officials responsible for the conduct of elections, political parties, groups or individuals with sinister intention to influence an election in favour of a candidate(s).” (Ezeani, 2005, p. 415). These illegalities incl...
6 comments
READ 💯 HERE