Corruption must be prevented through education, not prosecution alone — ICPC boss

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The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission has said corruption can be more effectively tackled through preventive education rather than relying solely on prosecution after offences have been committed.

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The ICPC Chairman, Dr Musa Adamu-Aliyu (SAN), stated this at the closing of a two-day workshop on integrating the teaching of anti-corruption into Nigerian universities and the Nigerian Law School on Friday in Kano.

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The workshop, themed “Institutionalizing Anti-Corruption in Nigerian Legal Training,” was organised by the ICPC in collaboration with the Nigerian Law School.

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Adamu-Aliyu said corruption is often addressed after the damage has already been done, stressing that the fight against the menace should begin with the formation of character and ethical values among future legal practitioners.

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“Corruption is rarely defeated in the courtroom after the damage has been done. It is prevented much earlier through the formation of character and values in young professionals,” he said.

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According to him, many individuals prosecuted for corruption are educated professionals, making it imperative to strengthen integrity and ethical consciousness among law students before they enter legal practice.

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He said the legal profession has a critical role to play in restoring public confidence in the justice system by producing lawyers who are competent, ethical, and committed to justice.

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Adamu-Aliyu noted that legal education curricula should produce graduates with both intellectual capacity and moral conscience, urging lecturers to reflect anti-corruption values in both teaching and institutional practices.

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He acknowledged that successful curriculum reform would require adequate funding, institutional support, and sustained commitment from stakeholders.

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The ICPC chairman pledged the commission’s continued support for the initiative, expressing optimism that the proposed framework would produce a new generation of lawyers committed to integrity, accountability, and the rule of law.

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Earlier, Prof. Garba Sa’ad of Bayero University, Kano, presented a paper titled “Curriculum Development and Review: Emerging Challenges and the Way Forward.”

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He described curriculum development as a continuous process that must respond to changing societal realities, recommending that anti-corruption education be introduced either as a standalone course or integrated into existing law courses such as Criminal Law and the Law of Evidence.

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Also, Dr Nte Bisong, Deputy Director and Head of the Open and Distance Learning Division of the National Universities Commission, presented a paper titled “The Core Curriculum and Minimum Academic Standards (CCMAS).”

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Bisong said incorporating anti-corruption content into the CCMAS for law programmes would produce lawyers who are intellectually proficient, ethically grounded, and committed to the anti-corruption crusade.

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NAN reports that the workshop brought together legal educators, curriculum experts, and institutional stakeholders to advance the landmark initiative aimed at embedding anti-corruption values into Nigeria’s legal education framework.

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