War on graft should start with education, not prosecution – ICPC boss

Nigeria's battle against corruption cannot be won solely through arrests and prosecutions, according to Musa Aliyu, Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, who emphasized that the country's anti-corruption efforts must start in classrooms where values and professional ethics are shaped.

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Aliyu made these remarks on Friday at the ICPC and Nigerian Law School Kano Zonal Workshop on Integrating Anti-Corruption Education into Nigerian Universities and the Nigerian Law School, where he highlighted the devastating impact of corruption on ordinary Nigerians.

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Corruption, Aliyu noted, has far-reaching consequences, including weakening institutions, undermining justice, slowing development, and eroding public trust, ultimately costing the public dearly, as he put it, "The public pays for corruption."

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The ICPC chairman stressed that preventing corruption through education is crucial, and that investigation and prosecution, while important, must be complemented by a focus on instilling ethical values in future professionals, particularly in classrooms, which he described as fertile ground for prevention.

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Legal education, Aliyu pointed out, plays a vital role in shaping the ethical standards of future lawyers, whose professional decisions have significant implications for governance, accountability, and the administration of justice, and warned that the justice system is weakened when legal practitioners compromise ethical principles.

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Aliyu urged universities and the Nigerian Law School to make integrity a central component of legal training, rather than an afterthought, and explained that the Kano workshop is part of the commission's broader initiative to institutionalize anti-corruption education in legal training.

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A similar workshop, he added, would be held for stakeholders in the South-West in Lagos, following an earlier engagement with deans of law faculties and the Nigerian Law School in Abuja.

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The ICPC chairman emphasized that the commission is not seeking to impose a rigid curriculum, but rather to collaborate with legal educators to develop a framework that strengthens ethical standards while reflecting academic realities, and pledged the commission's support and facilitation of this process.

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Aliyu stressed that the success of the initiative would be measured by the ethical decisions future lawyers make in their careers, and illustrated his point by asking participants to imagine a young lawyer confronted with the temptation to compromise justice years after graduation, whose decision would be influenced by the values taught today.

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Expressing concern over increasing public scrutiny of the legal profession, Aliyu said legal education must produce lawyers who are recognized not only for their knowledge of the law but also for their commitment to truth, justice, and accountability, and urged participants to consider the kind of professionals legal education should produce.

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Aliyu thanked participants and resource persons for contributing to the national conversation and paid tribute to Professor Isa Chiroma for his contributions to the initiative, and reaffirmed the commission's commitment to supporting reforms in legal education.

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He called on parents, teachers, and members of the legal profession to lead by example in promoting integrity, and expressed his hope that one day they would all look back with pride and know that they made a difference in the history of the country, saying "I hope that one day we will all look back with pride and know that we made a difference in the history of this country."