Implement National Anti-Corruption Strategy (NG0022)

Brief description:
This commitment will take deliberate actions that will lead to the implementation of the anti-corruption strategy for Nigeria.

General problem:
There is a culture of corruption in Nigeria that fuels corrupt practices, with impunity. The mechanisms, systems and institutions are too weak to tackle the level of impunity associated with corrupt practices. In the first NAP, there was a commitment to among other things develop a National Anti-Corruption strategy. This commitment is a follow up to take appropriate actions to implement the national anti-corruption strategy.

Specific OGP issue:
This commitment is meant to address the challenge of transparency and accountability

Rationale for the commitment:
Over the years, corruption has become widespread across governments, private sector and the civil society. This has impacted negatively on all aspects of life in Nigeria. There is therefore the need to take a range of actions to reduce the negative impact of corruption and promote transparency and accountability in governance.

Main objective:
To take appropriate actions to implement the national anti-corruption strategy and alter the culture of corruption and promote transparency and accountability in Nigeria.

Anticipated impact:
Reduction of corruption in Nigeria

See action plan for milestone activities

8. Implementation of the National Anti-Corruption Strategy

Main Objective

“To take appropriate actions to implement the national anti-corruption strategy and alter the culture of corruption and promote transparency and accountability in Nigeria.”

Milestones

1. Conduct Corruption Risk Assessment (CRA) for OGP lead MDAs and put in place integrity mechanism
2. Ministry of Justice to Publish Half-yearly report on the status of the implementation of the National Anti-Corruption Strategy
3. CJN office to publish Half-yearly report the state of anti-corruption cases in Nigeria
4. Promote ethical orientation for improved personal ethics through strategic communication, drama, arts, music and reward for integrity by honoring deserving organizations
5. TUGAR to deploy a framework for the continuous monitoring and reporting of anti-corruption cases by CSOs and MDAs

Editorial Note: For the complete text of this commitment, please see Nigeria’s action plan at https://www.opengovpartnership.org/documents/nigeria-action-plan-2019-2021/

Commitment Analysis

The commitment aims to implement Nigeria’s National Anti-Corruption Strategy (NACS). Under Commitment 9 of Nigeria’s 2017–2019 national action plan, the Federal Executive Council adopted NACS in 2017, after 18 years of effort. In 2018, Mr. Abubakar Malami, Nigeria’s attorney general and minister of Justice, launched an inter-institutional monitoring and evaluation committee on NACS implementation, ^[121] providing oversight to more than 800 MDAs. ^[122] A critical activity that was not completed under the previous action plan was passage of the Whistleblower Protection Bill, which is still at the National Assembly. ^[123]

Under the current action plan, this commitment includes several milestones outlining steps to consolidate implementation of NACS. These activities plan to release reports on the status of implementation of the strategy and the number of corruption cases. The Office of the Attorney General and law enforcement agencies will be the main agencies responsible for penalties. ^[124] They also seek to develop a monitoring framework by CSOs and government agencies, conduct corruption risk assessments for OGP lead agencies, set up integrity mechanisms, and encourage public awareness of ethics. This commitment is relevant to the OGP value of access to information, as it seeks to publish information on the status of anti-corruption cases in Nigeria and NACS implementation.

Implementation of this commitment could lead to minor potential impact on anti-corruption efforts given its milestones and expected goals. NACS intends to increase coordination between government, private sector, and civil society stakeholders in the fight against corruption. Anti-corruption agencies are expected to update strategic plans and develop implementation plans. NACS also includes a monitoring and evaluation component with monthly, quarterly, and annual reports by government agencies and central committees. However, the strategy does not include a concrete macro-level implementation plan and represents a continuation of preexisting efforts on corruption prevention, punitive sanctions, ethics, and asset recovery. ^[125]

Currently there is no publicly available information on the number of corruption cases initiated or the status of investigations. The National Judicial Council’s website does not offer any relevant information. ^[126] Publication of these data as foreseen by this commitment could shed light on the prevalence of certain types of corruption-related offences. This could contribute to monitoring the work of law enforcement agencies and detection, investigation, and prosecution of corruption cases. However, the action plan does not specify which details will be published and whether the format of publication will allow for nuanced and systematic analysis. Additionally, the milestones on encouraging ethics and engaging CSOs are vaguely formulated and are not measurable.

The IRM recommends engaging all stakeholders, particularly civil society, in implementation and monitoring of NACS. Another important priority is passage of the Whistleblower Protection Bill, a pending item from Nigeria’s previous action plan.

Commitment 8. Implementation of the National Anti-Corruption Strategy

● Verifiable: Yes

● Does it have an open government lens? Yes

● Potential Impact: Minor

● Completion: Limited

● Did it open government? No early results to report yet

This commitment sought to advance Nigeria’s 2017–2021 National Anti-Corruption Strategy. [160] The COVID-19 pandemic and an absence of dedicated government funding inhibited implementation of the strategy, whereas donor funding enabled progress in specific areas. In early 2023, the Government of Nigeria extended the strategy’s timeline to 2026 with the hope that the next administration would carry forward anti-corruption efforts. [161]

At the end of the implementation period, Independent Corrupt Practices & Other Related Offences Commission’s (ICPC’s) Corruption Risk Assessment Report for MDAs leading OGP commitments had not been published nor did IRM find that integrity mechanisms were established (Milestone 1). [162] The ICPC conducted a pilot assessment across selected agencies in 2021 and scored all agencies for ethics and integrity in 2022. [163] The Federal Ministry of Justice had not published half-yearly reports on implementation of the anti-corruption strategy (Milestone 2). [164] However, the National Assembly directed MDAs to submit reports on their progress under the strategy and held a public hearing in June 2021. [165] IRM did not find evidence that the Corruption and Financial Crime Cases Trial Monitoring Committee published half-yearly reports on the status of anti-corruption cases (Milestone 3). [166] A lack of coordination, funding, and framework were highlighted as challenges to tracking corruption cases. [167]

IRM did not find evidence that the Technical Unit on Governance and Anti-Corruption deployed a framework for monitoring and reporting of anti-corruption cases by CSOs and MDAs (Milestone 6). [168] Nor did IRM receive evidence regarding the promotion of personal ethics through communication, arts, and awards (Milestone 5). However, the OGP Secretariat’s consolidated report does state that various CSOs carried out relevant activities. [169]