NIGERIA Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission - a Brief Overview

Establishment of the Commission
The resolve to fight and win the war against corruption in Nigeria led to the promulgation of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act 2000. The Act was the first bill presented by President Olusegun Obasanjo to the National Assembly for consideration at the inception of the present democratic administration in 1999.

It was passed and signed into law on the 13th of June 2000. The Act establishes the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), which is the apex body saddled with the responsibility of fighting corruption and other related offences. The ICPC was inaugurated on the 29th of September 2000. The Act in Section 3 (14) provides for the independence of the Commission and gives the Chairman authority to issue orders for the control and general administration of the Commission. The Commission has a chairman, 12 members and a secretary.

At inception, they had the daunting task of venturing into an uncharted territory which involved putting in place a structure capable of meeting the challenges that lay ahead, building up human resource capacity and pushing for infrastructural base to meet the demands of the new Commission.

The mandate of the Commission is 'to prohibit and prescribe punishment for corrupt practices and other related offences'.

Staff Strength
The Commission's office is in an area that is centrally located in Nigeria's capital - Abuja. To strengthen staff base in fulfillment of the Commission's requirement for members of staff - the Commission in February 2001 through a firm of consultants KPMG advertised, conducted a test/examination and subsequently an interview to select qualified staff that would assist in laying the foundation for the war against corruption. 88 new staff were selected amongst an unprecedented 27,000 applicants in a manner never before seen in Nigeria and which is generally agreed to be the most transparent ever. The Commission currently maintains a staff strength of about 300.

Functions
Section 6 of the Act confers three main responsibilities on the ICPC. They are:

• To receive and investigate reports of corruption and in appropriate cases prosecute the offender[s].
• To examine, review and enforce the correction of corruption prone systems and procedures of public bodies, with a view to eliminating corruption in public life.
• Educating and enlightening the public on and against corruption and related offences with a view to enlisting and fostering public support for the fight against corruption.

Activities
With time, the Commission has come to be accepted by the populace and expectations on its activities are high. The volume of work of the Commission has been on the increase since inception due to its public enlightenment strategies. The Commission goes all out to raise public awareness on corruption and its negative effects and the fact that the money being stolen is public money and it is therefore their duty to complain when officials behave corruptly. This has yielded results going by the number of petitions being received on a daily basis by the Commission.

The Commission has gone further to create links with other government institutions by creating anti corruption units in Federal ministries and Parastatals with 100 of such units now established. In the coming year, the Commission hopes to increase its staff base by opening offices in the 6 geopolitical zones of the nation.

At inception, they had the daunting task of venturing into an uncharted territory which involved putting in place a structure capable of meeting the challenges that lay ahead, building up human resource capacity and pushing for infrastructural base to meet the demands of the new Commission.

Currently, the Commission in partnership with the United Nations Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention has an on-going pilot project - the Judicial Integrity Project and purpose of which is to strengthen judicial integrity and capacity in Nigeria.

Operation Structure
The Commission has seven departments, as follows: -

• Investigation Department
• Prosecution Department
• Special Duties Department
• Public Enlightenment Department
• Education Department
• Finance and Administration Department
• Planning, Research and Review Department.

Operationally, the Commission is structured into a committee system put in place to determine and enforce policy directives on Investigation and Prosecution; System Studies and Review; Public Enlightenment and Education respectively.

Some Special Features of the Act

• Evidence of tradition or custom in the offering and/or acceptance of gratification is not admissible.
• The burden of proving innocence, in certain offences has been shifted to the accused person.
• The Commission has been granted the power to investigate petitions against persons hitherto granted constitutional immunity, i.e. the President, the Vice Presidents, Governors and their Deputies.

Processing Petitions
The Commission is guided by the principle of confidentiality, giving protection to both the accused and the petitioners.

Allegations made to the Commission are referred to the Investigation Department, for preliminary investigation. The investigating officers prepare a report, which is sent to the Legal Department to determine whether or not a prima facie case can be established. If a case is established, a charge is drafted with proof of evidence and filed before a designated High Court Judge.

Where petitions do not fall under the offences provided for by the Act, they are forwarded to the appropriate bodies such as the Police, Public Complaints Commission, Code of Conduct Bureau, Human Rights Commission and the Economic and Financial Crime Commission etc.

Vision
To fight corruption to a standstill and restore Nigeria to the enviable standard of respectability and dignity within the comity of nations.

Hannatu Raji
A.S. Legal
Chairman' office