NBA president calls for EFCC, ICPC reform
The president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Abubakar Mahmoud (SAN) has called for the immediate reform of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC),the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and other anti-graft agencies for effective and efficient performance. In a statement to mark this year’s International Anti-corruption day in Abuja, […]
The president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Abubakar Mahmoud (SAN) has called for the immediate reform of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC),the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and other anti-graft agencies for effective and efficient performance.
In a statement to mark this year’s International Anti-corruption day in Abuja, Mahmoud said the issue of corruption has led to loss of confidence in Nigeria by its citizens both home and abroad due to the activities of fraudsters, corrupt public officials and bad governance by leaders.
“The NBA calls for urgent structural, legal and institutional reforms of the EFCC for more effectiveness and efficiency,” he said.
He said while the NBA commends the current efforts to fight corruption, the present legal and institutional framework which is in place is defective in structure and substance.
The NBA president said the association was committed to the fight against corruption especially judicial corruption as it was only the existence of an independent judiciary that could fight corruption.
He said the judiciary has a significant role to play in the anti-corruption crusade, adding that for the judiciary to fight corruption effectively and efficiently, it has to be fearless and financially and institutionally independent.
“We call upon the federal government to ensure that adequate funds are allocated to the judiciary as it prepares to present the 2017 Appropriation Bill to the National Assembly. It is expected that adequate funding will contribute to independence of the judiciary and reduce the incidence of judicial corruption,” he said.