The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has commended the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) for its strong leadership in asset recovery and the fight against corruption in Nigeria.
The commendation was delivered by the UNODC Country Representative, Cheikh Toure, during a courtesy visit to the ICPC headquarters in Abuja on Monday.
Toure praised the Commission’s commitment to combating corruption, despite the challenges facing the country.
He noted that no nation recovers stolen assets as effectively as Nigeria, describing this as evidence of ICPC’s outstanding work and its credible representation of Nigeria at international anti-corruption forums.
According to him, “ICPC is a good custodian of the provisions of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption, and your work in securing high-profile convictions demonstrates Nigeria’s commitment to the anti-corruption war.”
He also highlighted the Commission’s preventive initiatives, particularly the Anti-Corruption Prevention Programme for Local Government (ACPP-LG), which he said has made significant impact at the grassroots.
He expressed UNODC’s readiness to partner with ICPC to strengthen the programme, emphasising that youths who constitute over 70% of Nigeria’s population must be primary beneficiaries of anti-corruption interventions.
Toure further explained that UNODC uses its convening power to align stakeholder perspectives on issues of mutual interest.
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He invited the Commission to the next stakeholders’ meeting on Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs), to be hosted by the Embassy of Finland.
“We are here to work with you through our five-year plan, which contains over 400 action points your Commission can key into,” he said.
He called for deeper collaboration in strengthening sub-national anti-corruption efforts, capacity building in intelligence gathering, wildlife crime, institutional development, and the establishment of a digitalised knowledge repository for improved institutional performance.
In his response, the ICPC Chairman, Musa Aliyu (SAN), expressed appreciation for the visit, describing UNODC as “a dependable partner of the Commission.”
Aliyu reiterated ICPC’s readiness to collaborate with UNODC, especially in supporting the implementation of local government autonomy as a tool to reduce corruption at the grassroots.
He informed the delegation that the Commission had recovered substantial sums for the country in tax and pension matters and had successfully blocked several corruption loopholes.
The ICPC Chairman added that anti-corruption body placed high priority on youths and women, noting that several initiatives have been organised for them, including a major programme last year in partnership with the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu.
The Chairman also identified technology as a key area for collaboration, noting that corruption continues to evolve with the rise of artificial intelligence.
He disclosed that the Commission has introduced an AI-powered chatbot on its website and welcomed additional support from UNODC in this regard.
“The Commission strives to maintain integrity and transparency in all its operations to sustain public confidence. Our third-place ranking in the deployment of the Ethics and Integrity Compliance Scorecard reflects this commitment,” he stated.
(Editor: Ken Eseni)
