A Review of Anti-Corruption Wars in Nigeria

Abstract

Corruption still subsists as one of the greatest challenges facing Nigeria. The existence of this phenomenon in virtually all aspects of the nation’s socio-economic life is said to be one reason why poverty level remains high irrespective of her position as the six highest suppliers of oil to the whole wide world, and a possessor of numerous other human and natural resources. A recent attempt by the Federal Government of Nigeria to curb this societal ill led to the establishment of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Independent Corrupt Practices & Related Offences Commission (ICPC) among others bodies. This paper historically explores the anti-corruption war in Nigeria and specifically zeros itself to review EFCC’s role in this war. The methodology adopted in this paper is the narrative-textual case study (NTCS), a research method that sources the required quantitative and qualitative secondary data on the phenomenon of study from secondary sources like the internet, World Wide Web, online databases, e-libraries  et cetera. On the strength of the qualitative data sourced, it was discovered that the agency has made some successes but is being hindered by political, administrative and judicial bureaucracy from efficient performance. The paper therefore boldly recommends that transparency be enshrined into all aspect Nigerian political and administrative life and extant anti-graft laws be reviewed, harmonized and strengthened to enhance the effectiveness of fight against corruption and breach of corporate governance ethics by those holding political and non-political positions in Nigeria.