Addressing Corruption Requires More Than Just Enforcement – ICPC Chair

The chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practice and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Dr Musa Adamu Aliyu, has said that fighting corruption in Africa and bringing it to an end requires more than just the enforcement of the law.

According to him, the fignt demands a continental commitment to building strong institutions, nurturing ethical leadership and promoting a culture of integrity among citizens.

Aliyu made the disclosure during the celebration of the 2026 African Union Anti-Corruption Day organised and hosted by the Anti-Corruption and Transparency Unit (ACTU) of the National Opening University of Nigeria (NOUN) during the week in Abuja.

“Corruption remains one of the greatest obstacles to Africa’s socio-economic transformation, democratic governance, peace, and sustainable development. It weakens public institutions, diverts scarce resources meant for development, discourages investment, widens inequality, and erodes citizens’ confidence in government.

“Addressing these challenges requires more than enforcement alone; it demands a continental commitment to building strong institutions, nurturing ethical leadership, and promoting a culture of integrity among citizens,” said Aliyu.

Welcoming the guests and participants to the event, ACTU Head of the National Open University of Nigeria, Mrs. Doris C-L Nzenwa, referred to corruption as the “mother of all evil” and therefore requires all hands to be on deck for it to be exterminated, adding that corruption is the harbinger of insecurity, terrorism and all other social vices that plague the society.

“The fight against corruption is not an exercise of entertainment. It is a fight against the mother of all evil known to mankind. Corruption is the harbinger of insecurity, terrorism, kidnapping, armed robbery, rape, economic backwardness, skewed reward system, hunger, and avoidable deaths, to mention but a few.

“It all starts from a lack of understanding of the effects of corruption on society as well as the social and economic elements of the society. Hence, if the fight against corruption must have the desired impact, every element of society, not just in Africa, but across the globe, must be recruited into the fight,” stated Nzenwa.

This year’s African Union Anti-Corruption Day was tagged “Scaling Up The Promotion of Integrity and Anti-Corruption Actions Across Africa,” and it is celebrated yearly on the 14th of July.

The celebration featured a heated debate, among other activities, and the participants were drawn up from the various study centres of NOUN and from the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).