The Federal Government disclosed, on Tuesday, its consideration of the mounting demands for an International Anti-Corruption Court, describing it as a revolutionary shift in its approach to tackling corruption at an international level.
The government highlighted that there’s no exaggerating the damaging impact of corruption on Nigeria’s development, stability, and prosperity.
The 33rd Anti-Corruption Situation Room in Abuja, jointly organized by the Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA) Resource Centre and Integrity Initiatives International, heard this statement from the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN). He was represented by Deputy Director (Public Prosecution) Yusuf Abdullahi Abdulkadir.
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He said, ‘Nigeria, as a country that has been deeply affected by corruption, could benefit significantly from the establishment of an IACC. Such a court could provide a platform to address cases that involve individuals and assets located abroad, often tied to grand corruption schemes that have a devastating impact on Nigeria’s development efforts. It could serve as an additional tool to complement and strengthen the nation’s domestic anti-corruption efforts. The corrosive impact of corruption on Nigeria’s development, stability, and prosperity cannot be overstated.’
The AGF, while characterizing corruption as a profound threat to the stability, progress, and development of nations across the globe, asserted that graft is an all-encompassing affliction that disregards borders, erodes trust, weakens institutions, obstructs economic advancement, and sustains social injustice.
The Chairman of HEDA, Olanrewaju Suraj, lamented that ‘many corrupt people are getting elevated to higher places.’
‘You can see ministers who are accused of corruption being returned to office. Some of them are becoming ministers, some governors who are still standing trial and ministers are now heads of agencies, and quite a number of them are currently at the federal and state levels,’ he said.