Nigeria does not lack anti-corruption laws. What Nigeria lacks is the awkward follow-through known in other jurisdictions as enforcement.
Investigating and Prosecuting Corruption in Nigeria: An Empirical Analysis of Legal and Institutional Frameworks by Dr Olugbemisola Odusote now the Director General of the Nigeria Law School Abuja
According to Olugbemisola Odusote’s exhaustive doctoral study on investigating and prosecuting corruption in Nigeria, the country has assembled an impressive anti-corruption cast: the EFCC, the ICPC, the Code of Conduct Bureau, the Code of Conduct Tribunal, and enough legislation to frighten a Scandinavian accountant. And yet, Nigeria remains fantastically and proudly corrupt.
Investigating and Prosecuting Corruption
This is not an accident. It is a system.
The EFCC: Federal Entertainment and Film Censorship Commission
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission was designed to investigate, arrest, prosecute, and deter corruption. What it has mastered instead is televised arrests, dramatic handcuff choreography, and selective amnesia once a suspect acquires political protection. A current case illustrates this perfectly; the former governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello. The dramatic announcement of his indictment with wanted posters. The arrest and arraignment before the court. The granting of bail less than 0.1 of the alleged stolen sums. His announcement of seeking senatorial office and the EFCC announcing that Mr Bello was innocent until proven guilty. His nomination into the council for the reelection of the president. His political cover was complete.
Under successive administrations—from Obasanjo, through Jonathan, to Buhari, and now Tinubu—the EFCC has operated less like an independent agency and more like a political mood ring.
When the presidency is angry, files move. When allies are involved, documents suddenly develop legs. The recent hype activities concerning the former Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Abubakar Malami comes into focus. He declared his political alliance with the opposition African Democratic Congress and the EFCC sprung into action, his file became active and arrest and arraignment were made of him and his family. They are awaiting bail.
Odusote’s research confirms what Nigerians already know: the EFCC is not short of legal powers; it is short of permission.
ICPC: Permanently Investigating Since 2000
The Independent Corrupt Practices Commission suffers from a more tragic fate: near-total irrelevance. Created with lofty intentions, it has spent most of its existence issuing press releases about workshops, stakeholder engagements, and “sensitisation”.
Actual convictions remain rare, and public impact is minimal. The ICPC is what happens when an institution is technically alive but spiritually deceased.
The Attorney-General: Prosecutor or Political Bodyguard?
No satire of Nigeria’s anti-corruption architecture is complete without the Attorney-General of the Federation—constitutionally empowered to prosecute, discontinue, or quietly euthanise corruption cases.
Successive AGFs have interpreted this role creatively, often functioning as Senior Advocate of the President (SAP) rather than of the Federal Republic. When corruption cases vanish via nolle prosequi, it is never corruption that is being protected—only “national interest”, a phrase so elastic it could restrain a Boeing.
The Judiciary: Adjourned Till Further Notice
Then there are the courts. According to Odusote, corruption cases in Nigeria do not end; they hibernate.
Endless interlocutory applications, strategic adjournments, conveniently unavailable judges, and legal gymnastics worthy of Olympic qualification ensure that trials last longer than the political careers of the accused. By the time judgment arrives, the defendant has either defected to the ruling party, retired comfortably, or died of natural causes at a ripe age. Justice in Nigeria is not blind—it is exhausted.
Political Will: Frequently Promised, Rarely Delivered
Every administration declares a “war on corruption”. Obasanjo announced it. Jonathan refined it into a whisper. Buhari weaponised it selectively. Tinubu now assures Nigerians that it will be pursued—strategically.
Odusote’s research delivers a devastating conclusion: political will in Nigeria exists only when corruption is politically inconvenient.
There is no sustained, non-partisan commitment to accountability. Anti-corruption agencies remain tethered to executive approval, budgetary suffocation, and appointment politics.
The Public: Innocent Victims or Active Collaborators?
Perhaps the most uncomfortable finding is reserved for Nigerians themselves. Odusote points out that a society that celebrates stolen wealth, defends corrupt politicians as “our own”, and treats public office as a reward system cannot realistically demand integrity.
A nation that votes for thieves and prays they remember home should not be surprised when corruption thrives.
Conclusion: A Perfectly Designed Failure
Nigeria’s anti-corruption framework is not broken. It is working exactly as designed: producing headlines instead of convictions, investigations without conclusions, and trials without endings.
Until anti-corruption institutions are insulated from political control, the judiciary is disciplined, Attorneys-General stop acting as legal valets, and citizens stop clapping for looters, Nigeria’s war on corruption will remain what it has always been: A spectator sport, with no referee, no penalties, and the same winners every time.
Centre for Nigeria Progress 