The chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, Dr. Musa Adamu Aliyu, has explained how the commission, in partnership with the Bureau of Public Procurement, successfully intercepted and blocked $300,000 that was set aside for a students’ Information and Communication Technology program, which was being funnelled through suspicious accounts.
He shared this information on Tuesday in Abuja during the Centre for Media Policy and Accountability one-day National Policy Dialogue on Anti-Corruption, held at the ICPC Auditorium.
Aliyu emphasized the importance of cooperation between sister agencies to prevent corrupt officials from carrying out illicit activities.
He explained, “It was BPP that gave us an idea because something strange was happening concerning ICT for students. It was then that we had to look properly and make recoveries, blocking $300,000 in one of the accounts, as well as recovering an expensive vehicle.”
Aliyu also explained why his leadership is prioritizing the strengthening of the Commission’s prevention mandate.
As outlined in Section 6 (a-F) of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act 2000, the ICPC is tasked with three key mandates: enforcement, prevention, and public education/enlightenment.
The ICPC boss further detailed how the synergy with BPP uncovered irregularities related to the fund for ICT students, resulting in the recovery of $300,000 and an expensive vehicle.
“It was the synergy between us and BPP that led to the discovery of a strange thing that was happening in respect to a certain fund earmarked for students in the ICT sector.
“It was then that we had to look properly and make recoveries, blocking $300,000 in one of the accounts, as well as recovering an expensive vehicle,” he added.
The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Abiodun Fagbemi, SAN, expressed his satisfaction with the event.
Represented by Mr. Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, he noted that the dialogue offered stakeholders a valuable opportunity to exchange ideas and discuss ways to sustain successful anti-corruption initiatives.
He also underscored the need for stronger collaboration among all stakeholders to enhance the preventive approaches of anti-corruption agencies.
Aliyu shared a notable achievement, highlighting the successful partnership between the ICPC and the Bureau of Public Procurement which led to the identification and blocking of $300,000 earmarked for students in the ICT sector.
He remarked, “I am encouraging us across all agencies to open up to one another. This will help us streamline what we are doing. There is no single arm of government, tier of government, or agency that can fight corruption alone, so we need to come together locally, regionally, and internationally to fight corruption.”
