Former ICPC chairman seeks proper funding of anti-graft agencies

Justice Mustapha Akanbi, the pioneer Chairman of the Independent
Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission, on Wednesday
in Abuja called for proper funding of anti-graft agencies.
Akanbi, who made the call at the presentation of the maiden edition of
the ICPC Law Report, said the funding would make the agencies to carry
out their mandates effectively.
He urged the management and staff of ICPC to remain steadfast in the
fight against corruption and continue with the good work they were
doing.
Kanu Agabi, a one-time Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the
Federation, appealed to Nigerians to shun corruption.
Agabi said: “Laws are not being enforced the way they should.
“The structure for accountability has been destroyed.
“Therefore, we need to put on the mind of integrity.”
Abiodun Layonu (SAN), who was the guest speaker at the occasion,
suggested the deduction of N500 from all current account holders.
The levy, Layonu said, should be a single one-off annual deduction on
all exiting current accounts having a balance of more than N5,000.
He said: “This is one way through which every person shall make active
contribution to the collective fight against corruption.
“The resultant fund will be in billions to supplement the budgets of
anti-corruption agencies.
“The levy should be deducted with clear narrative by the banks and
credited centrally to a specially dedicated and designated account.”
Layonu said that the anti-corruption levy account should be
administered by a special body in order to allow anti-corruption
agencies benefit.
He stressed the need for proper and sound investigation of corruption
cases in order to ensure effective prosecution.
Layonu attributed the delay in administration of justice to the issue
of interlocutory appeals and frequent, unnecessary adjournments.
He suggested that judges should be designated in accordance with the
provisions of the ICPC Act, adding that it would help in tackling the
issue of undue delay.
He said another way of ensuring successful tackling of corruption was
to engage in periodic training of ICPC personnel to keep abreast of
the dynamics of a modern society.
ICPC Chairman, Ekpo Nta, said the law reports would assist Nigerians,
particularly lawyers to distinguish and recognise elements of
corruption.
Nta said: “In producing a law report of this nature, the ICPC has
taken a bold step towards establishing firmly in the minds of our
people that cases of corruption have actually led a lot of people to
jail for various terms of imprisonment.”