The Pursuit of Good Governance and the Anti-Financial Corruption Blitz in Nigeria: A Study of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) (2003-2016)
Otu Offiong Duke
Department of Public Administration, University of Calabar, Calabar, Nigeria
Dickson David Agbaji *
Department of Political Science, University of Calabar, Calabar, Nigeria
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
The study examines the extent to which the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has been able to tackle financial corruption and its gangrenous effects in Nigeria between 2003 and 2016. The study relied on systematic qualitative content analysis of secondary sources of data, and the strain theory was adopted as the tool of analysis for the study. A cursory thrust into the political culture of corruption in Nigeria’s history revealed that even with the establishment of anti-graft agencies and legislations by the distinct administrations, financial corruption has, nevertheless, continued to wax stronger and escalate like wildfire. The paper argues that corruption has been perpetrated with impunity, that there exists a porous intelligence base in the pursuit of financial corruption cases, that unnecessary politicking by the government and the elites limits the EFCC’s effectiveness, and that the existence of the immunity clause, plea bargain and judicial redtapism and misconducts short-changes the pursuit of the rule of law and the delivery of justice which, in turn, hamper on the anti-graft war of the EFCC. The paper, therefore, recommends the pursuit of good governance and genuine political will in the anti-graft war, incorporation of a strong scientific base in the investigation and persecution of financial corruption cases, and granting the EFCC autonomy to operate freely but under specific legal codes.
Keywords: EFCC, financial corruption, good governance, anti-graft war