Using specialised anti-corruption agencies to combat pervasive corruption in Nigeria : a critical review of the ICPC and EFCC

Abstract

The use of specialised anti-corruption agencies (ACAs) to combat corruption is increasingly popular among African countries. This is no surprise considering the successes these agencies have recorded elsewhere in the world, on the strength of which they have been described as ‘the most innovative feature of the anti-corruption movement of the last two decades’. Yet while ACAs have been successful in other parts of the world, the same cannot be said of those in Africa generally and Nigeria in particular. Even with two ACAs – the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) – corruption continues to soar in the country, making it necessary to examine the flaws of Nigeria’s ACAs. Focusing on a number of key characteristics of ACAs, this article analyses the role of the ICPC and EFCC in combating corruption in Nigeria. The main question the article seeks to answer is why corruption should be on the increase despite the fact that two specialised ACAs have been in existence for close to two decades.