A CRITIQUE OF LAWS, INSTITUTIONS AND CORRUPTION IN NIGERIA

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ACRITIQUEOF LAWS, INSTITUTIONS AND CORRUPTION IN NIGERIA

ABSTRACT

Corruption has been a very serious issue in Nigeria with devastating effects on the socioeconomic development of the country. Different regimes in the country have fought corruption in the past years with diverse enacted anti-corruption laws in combating corruption which were enforced by some anti-corruption institutions. However, these laws may not have been significantly effective in this fight due to some deficiencies inherent in them or due to their improper enforcements by the anti-corruption institutions. This essay therefore aims to examine the legal and institutional frameworks for combating corruption in Nigeria with a view to establishing their effectiveness or otherwise in curbing corruption in the country. This essay uses the doctrinal approach to examine several anti-corruption laws and institutions in the country. This paper argues that the socio-economic growth in Nigeria has been very insignificant due to corruption in both public and private sectors and also that the anti-corruption laws and institutions in the country were ineffective due to some legal and political factors. The study therefore, concludes that the legal and institutional frameworks for combating corruption in Nigeria were ineffective and recommends legal and institutional reforms.

 

CHAPTER ONE GENERAL INTRODUCTION

1.1            BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

Corruption, all through history and across the world, has become an obstinate phenomenon. It is apparent in all types of political systems and in numerous forms both in developed and developing democracies. The impact of corruption varies from one political system to another.[1] There is no doubt that Nigeria which is endowed with abundant human and natural resources than many countries in the African continent and has ample opportunities for growth and sustainable development, is however, socio-economically stagnant, perhaps as a result of not doing things right. In other words, one of the major causes of the country’s socio-economic and political backwardness could be corruption.[2] Corruption has been identified as one of the foremost factors hindering the significant growth and development of the Nigerian economy. Transparency International (TI), a non-governmental organization (NGO) that evaluates the corruption levels of different countries in the world using Corruption Perception Index (CPI) has always placed Nigeria among most corrupt countries in the world. The Transparency International (TI) corruption perception index for the year 2020, though, claimed that the corruption index for Nigeria dropped against the previous year (2019), it still placed the country

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at position 149 out of 183. This index however, still indicates that corruption is still prevalent in Nigeria.[3] Vanguard newspaper also reported the following about corruption in Nigeria:

It is worrying that despite the numerous efforts to by state actors on the war against corruption, Nigeria is still perceived by citizens and members of the international community as being corrupt as nepotism in public service appointments and promotions, lack of adequate anticorruption legal frameworks and other vices are still prevalent in Nigeria.[4]

Muhammadu Buhari was elected president of Nigeria in 2015 and was sworn in on the 29th of May 2015.[5] The administration, which had earlier maintained that the country lost huge amounts of funds in the hands of politicians and public office holders in past regimes swung into action by charging and investigating the erstwhile National Security Adviser to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan for misappropriating an approximate sum of 2.1 billion United States Dollars (USD) meant for the purchase of weapons and ammunitions for the Nigerian Armed Forces.

1.2             STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The Nigerian economy is flaunted as the biggest economy in the African continent with a Gross

Domestic Product (GDP) of about 429.42 billion United States Dollars (USD) as at December 2020[6] placing it ahead of Egypt and South Africa in the continent. However, with respect to infrastructural development, Nigeria is far behind many countries in the African continent. The African Development Bank (AfDB) noted that Nigeria has over some time experienced infrastructural abandonment as a result of huge public debt which is only relatively sustainable at 25 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) as at June 2020. They reported that:

Nigeria’s public debt is relatively sustainable at 25% of her GDP, but debt service payments are high, and the country’s ability to attract external private financial inflows was affected by macroeconomic imbalances and policy

uncertainty.[7]

The Statistician-General of Nigeria, Yemi Kale reported that, out of all citizens of the country resident in Nigeria who had at least one contact with a public official in the last twelve months before 2019, 30 percent were found to have given bribe to, or were asked to pay a bribe by a public official. This implies that corruption was still relatively high in the country, although the prevalence of bribery has undergone a statistically significant decrease of 2.3 percent compared to 2016 when the bribery in Nigeria stood at 32.3 percent.[8]

In 2020, the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE) submitted that Nigeria was losing approximately 1.95 billion US Dollars in government revenue and 8.15 billion US Dollars in private sector revenue yearly as a result of corruption at Nigerian ports.[9] This report corroborates the Transparency International report of 2020 which places Nigeria as the second most corrupt country in the West African sub region with Guineas-Bissau the only country in the sub region that that is more corrupt than Nigeria.[10] Also, the 2020 UNDP Human Development Report

 

revealed that Nigeria did not attain any significant advancement as the human development index for the country was 0.539, placing her at position 161 out of 180 countries appraised.[11] The poverty situation of Nigeria becomes disheartening when one considers the fact that the country is potentially rich, but due to corruption majority of her citizens are living in poverty. Nigeria has a massive annual agricultural yield which the National Bureau of Statistics reported that in the third quarter of 2019, the agricultural sector in contributed about 29.25 percent to the overall real GDP of the country.[12] It was also reported that in the first half of 2020, Nigeria earned revenue of about 204.45 billion Naira from exports of agricultural products.13

Varrella[13] reported that Nigeria earned about 47 billion USDollars from the sales of crude oil and refined petroleum products in 2019. Despite these huge earnings, socio-economic growth and development in the country is still very slow and majority of the citizens are still poor. Having recognized that corruption is an obstacle to progressive development, successive governments in Nigeria over the years took steps to eradicate or minimize this by promulgating laws and establishing institutions to combat corruption. With respect to the prevalence of corruption in the country, several laws and institutions were promulgated and established to combat corruption in the country. Regardless of the existence of these laws and institutions to combat corruption, the menace of corruption over the years keeps increasing as it is highly prevalent in the public and private sectors as well as among individuals.[14] It is therefore an incontestable fact that corruption is responsible for Nigeria’s slow and stagnant growth and development since the country attained independence in 1960. In view of the aforesaid, this study attempts to provide answers to the following research questions:

  1. What are the legal frameworks for fighting corruption in Nigeria?
  2. What are the institutional frameworks for combating corruption in Nigeria?
  3. Have these legal and institutional frameworks been effective in reducing corruption in

Nigeria?

  1. What are the legal and institutional deficits in the fight against corruption in Nigeria?

1.3              AIM AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The aim of this study is to examine the Legal and Institutional frameworks for combating

Corruption in Nigeria with a view to establishing their effectiveness or otherwise in reducing Corruption in the Country.

The objectives of the study are:

  1. To determine some Legal Frameworks for fighting Corruption in Nigeria.
  2. To determine some Institutional Frameworks for combating Corruption in Nigeria.
  3. To determine if these Legal and Institutional Frameworks been effective in reducing

Corruption in Nigeria.

  1. To find out the Legal and Institutional deficits in the fight against Corruption in Nigeria.

1.4           SCOPE OF THE STUDY

This study focuses on the following enacted laws in Nigeria; Code of Conduct Bureau and

Tribunal Act, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (Establishment) Act

2004,Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission Act 2000, Money

Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2011 (as amended) and the Advance Fee Fraud and other Related Offences Act 2006. This study also examines some Institutions established to fight against corrupt practices in Nigeria. Institutions that are examined in this study are; the Nigeria Police

Force, the Judiciary, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), and the Independent

Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC). The study also focuses on the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended).

1.5             SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

This study examines the Legal and Institutional Frameworks for combating Corruption in Nigeria with a view to establishing their Effectiveness or otherwise in reducing Corruption in the country is significant because it will add to the existing body of literature materials. The study is also significant because its findings will help identify factors that inhibit the Laws and Institutions aimed at combating Corruption in Nigeria from effectively doing that, and measures to be taken to address the factors or challenges. The study is also significant because it will provide a synthesis of the Legal and Institutional Frameworks for combating corruption in

Nigeria, which will help enhance the understandings of both legal practitioners and students

1.6            RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

A Doctrinal research method was adopted in the execution of this study. A Doctrinal research method is a research method that looks into what the prevailing state of a legal doctrine, legal rule, or legal principle in a specified society are.[15] In other words, the Doctrinal research method enables a legal researcher to take one or more legal propositions, principles, rules or doctrines as a starting point in a legal research study and analyzes them. This study also uses an Analytical methodology to determine if the Laws and Institutions in Nigeria are functional and effective. Based on the aforesaid, this study places substantial emphasis on primary and secondary sources of law in Nigeria. The primary materials used are relevant statutes on corruption in Nigeria such as Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act 2000, the EFCC (Establishment) Act 2004,

Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2011 (as amended) and Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act 2006. Other materials used in the study are judgments of corruption cases decided by Nigerian courts, journals, newspapers/magazines and law text books, and internet.

1.7            LITERATURE REVIEW

Corruption has become a global menace as no society today is totally free from it. Nevertheless, corruption is more evident in some countries than others because countries with less prevalence of corruption are able to manage it better than others through conducting requisite scrutiny, checks and balances that help to minimize corruption opportunities and tendencies, while others failed to do so.[16]

According to Binions,[17] “Corruption incidences vary across institutions, individuals’ positions, and the types of advantages transacted. It can affect policy formation or execution, depending on the level of government predisposed by corruption.”19 This notion is analogous to the World Bank’s definition for Corruption, which states that “Corruption” is the abuse of public position for personal gains, covering behaviors ranging from bribery to embezzlement of public funds.[18] Similarly, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) defined Corruption as “misuse of public office, power or authority for private or personal benefit through bribery, extortion, influence peddling, nepotism, fraud, speed money or embezzlement.”[19] This definition is limited because it considers corruption an offence committed by Government/public servants only, and does not take cognizance of the fact that corruption is also prevalent in the private sector.

Ardzard[20] examined the Legal and Institutional Frameworks available in Nigeria for the fight against Corruption employing a Doctrinal approach. The study reviewed and analyzed some existing laws such as the Criminal and Penal Code of Nigeria, Advanced Fee Fraud and other

Related Offence Act 2006, Money Laundering Act 2011, Corrupt Practices and other related

Offence Act. Some institutions such as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission, the Code of Conduct Bureau, the Nigerian Police, and the Judiciary were also reviewed and analyzed. Findings from the study revealed that certain provisions in the Anti-Corruption laws in Nigeria were static, archaic and inactive to innovation in the society and to new patterns of corrupt practices such as crimes perpetrated through money paying machines like the Automated Teller Machines (ATM) and Point of Sale (POS) device; hence, making the fight against Corruption ineffective.

Onuigbo and Eme,[21] explored the Legal Framework for the fight against Corruption in Nigeria through the examination of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission Act, the Money Laundering Act, the Advance Fee Fraud (and other related offences) Act, the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act, the Penal Code and Criminal Code, and the Public Procurement Act. Findings from the study revealed that the existing anti-corruption laws and institutions were not effective in fighting Corruption in Nigeria.

Similarly, Olujobi[22] examined the Penal Code, Criminal Code, the ICPC Act, and EFCC Act and their fight against Corruption in the Petroleum sector in Nigeria using an analytical approach. He maintained that the relationship between the Federal Government and Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation was not transparent, therefore, instigating Corruption, which prompted the study. The study employed an Analytical approach by placing reliance on secondary data from academic journals, articles, statutes and textbooks. Some national Anti-Corruption Legal Frameworks in Nigeria such as the Penal Code, Criminal Code, the ICPC Act, and EFCC Act were examined in the study. Findings from the study revealed that the Anti-corruption laws were ineffective in curbing Corruption in the Petroleum sector of Nigeria.

Having reviewed some related studies, it was observed that these studies focused on the effects of Corruption on the socio-economic development of Nigeria without examining the effects of the fight against Corruption on the socio-economic development of the country. However, this current study attempts to focus on the effects and effectiveness or otherwise of the fight against Corruption on the socio-economic development of Nigeria, which is the identified research gap.

1.8             LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

  • Time Constraint: The available time for conducting a study of this magnitude was very short and inadequate as the researcher had to combine the study with other academic engagements. This would ultimately affect the quality of the study. This limitation was however, taken care of through proper time management and extra hours of mine.
  • Financial Constraint: The researcher only had limited financial resources to implement the study. A study of this magnitude actually requires enough funds for its execution. This paucity of funds to execute the study also affected the quality of the study as the researcher was unable to get some important literature materials and facts required to boost the quality and precision of the study. This challenge was minimized through seeking for more funds from parents, friends and relatives and managing the available resources in order to effectively implement the study.
  • Unavailability/Difficulty in Accessing Relevant Literature Materials: The researcher also experienced problem getting or accessing current relevant literature materials required to conduct the study. Some of these materials were either not available on the public domain or were difficult to access. Hence, the researcher was left with no option than to make use of the available and easily accessed materials. This also threatens the quality as well as precision of the findings of the study. This limitation was taken care of by making good use of the available materials and studies.

1.9               SYNOPSIS OF THE CHAPTERS IN THE STUDY

This research study is structured into five main chapters for easy comprehension and orderly presentation. Chapter One introduces the study. It provides the Background to the Study, Statement of the Problem, Aim and Objectives of the Study, Scope of the Study, Significance of the Study, Research Methodology, Literature Review and Synopsis of the Chapters in the Study. Chapter Two provides clarification of some concepts and theories that are essentially relevant to the essay. Chapter Three examines the Legal and Institutional Frameworks for combating Corruption in Nigeria in order to eliminate or minimize corruption in the Country. Chapter Four analyzes the Legal and Institutional deficits in the fight against Corruption in Nigeria in order to determine their effects on the fight against Corruption in Nigeria. Chapter Five concludes the study and makes recommendations.

[1] G. O. Igiebor, “Political Corruption in Nigeria: Implications for Economic Development in the Fourth Republic” [2019] (35) (4) Journal of Developing Studies,493-513.

[2] H. S. Ardzard “The Legal and Institutional Measure in Combating Corruption in Nigeria: Issues, Challenges and Prospects (PhD Thesis, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria 2017).

[3] J. Agbakwuru “Why Nigeria’s rating by Transparency International is low – FG” Vanguard Newspaper (Nigeria, 24 March 2021). Available online at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2021/03/whu-nigerias-rating-by-transparencyinternational-is-low-fg/ accessed on April 26, 2021.

[4] Ibid

[5] H. S. Ardzard, “The Legal and Institutional Measure in Combating Corruption in Nigeria: Issues, Challenges and Prospects” (PhD Thesis, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria 2017).

[6] Knoema, “Nigeria economy: Gross domestic product in current prices” (2020). Available online at: https://knoema.com/atlas/Nigeria/GDP/ accessed on March 22, 2021.

[7] African Development Bank, “Nigeria economic outlook” (2020). Available online at: https://www.afdb.org/en/countries-west-africa-nigeria/nigeria-economic-outlook/ accessed on March 22, 2021.

[8] Y. Kale, Corruption in Nigeria: Patterns and trends: Second survey on corruption as experience by the population” (2019). National Bureau of Statistics in collaboration with the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime and UK Aid. Abuja: National Bureau of Statistics.

[9] Center for International Private Enterprise, “Talking corruption in the Nigerian ports – A story of collective action highs, lows, and wins” (2020). Available online at: https://www.cipe.org/resources/takling-corruption-in-thenigerian-ports-a-story-of-collective-action-highs-low-and-wins/ accessed on April 26, 2021.

[10] UNODC, “Corruption in Nigeria: Patterns and trends: Second survey on corruption as experience by the population” (2019). Vienna: United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime.

[11] UNDP, “United Nations Human Development Report 2020” Available online at: https://www.undp.org/en/2020 report / accessed on March 22, 2021.

[12] NBS, “Nigerian Gross Domestic Product Report Q3”(2019). Abuja: National Bureau of Statistics. 13W. Ukpe, “Nigeria at 60: Agriculture and the Way Forward” (2020). Available online at: https://nairametrics.com/2020/10/01/nigeria-60-agriculture-and-the-way-forward/ accessed on April 26, 2021.

[13] S. Varrella, “Contribution of oil sector to GDP in Nigeria 2018-2019” (2021). Available online at: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1165865/contribution-of-oil-sector-to-gdp-in-nigeria/ accessed on April 26, 2021.

[14] H. S. Ardzard, “The Legal and Institutional Measure in Combating Corruption in Nigeria: Issues, Challenges and Prospects” (PhD Thesis, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria 2017).

[15] K. Vibhute and F. Aynalem, “Legal research methods: Teaching material” (2009). Available online at: https://www.chilotpress.com/ accessed on 9th June 2021.

[16] P. D. Pahida and O. O. Akangbe, “Corruption as a bane for under-development in Nigeria: Issues and challenges” [2013] (15) International Affairs and Global Strategy, 76-83.

[17] O. Binions, “Study of corruption using the institutional analysis and development framework with an application to the bidding phase of infrastructure Procurement” (PhD Thesis, University College, London 2018). 19Ibid

[18] World Bank, “Anticorruption fact sheet 2020” Available online at: https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/factsheet/2020/02/19/anticorruption-fact-sheet/ accessed on March 22, 2021.

[19] J. C. Kohler and A. Bowra, “Exploring anti-corruption, transparency, and accountability in the World Health Organization, the United Nations Development Programme, the World Bank Group, and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria” [2020] (16) (101) Globalization and Health, 1-10.

[20] H. S. Ardzard, “The Legal and Institutional Measure in Combating Corruption in Nigeria: Issues, Challenges and Prospects” (PhD Thesis, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria 2017).

[21] R. A. Onuigbo and O. I. Eme, “Analyses of legal frameworks for fighting corruption in Nigeria: Problems and challenges” [2015] (5) (3) Kuwait Chapter of Arabian Journal of Business and Management,1-33.

[22] O. J. Olujobi, “Legal framework for combating corruption in Nigeria – The upstream petroleum sector in perspective” [2017] (8) (3) Journal of Advanced Research in Law and Economics, 956-970.

ACRITIQUEOF LAWS, INSTITUTIONS AND CORRUPTION IN NIGERIA

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