International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume VI, Issue VIII, August 2022 | ISSN 2454–6186
Gonee, Barile Jonathan, And Prof. Fidelis Allen
Department of Political and Administrative Studies
University of Port Harcourt
Abstract: The EFCC was established by the Obasanjo civilian administration in 2003 to tackle the wide spread corruption in the system. Since its inception, the Commission has been in the trench, taking on the monster call corruption. But as the saying goes;” Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown”. The commission is faced with myriad of challenges some are internal while others are external. The aim of this article is to highlight some of the challenges that the EFCC faces as it carries out the arduous task of riding the nation of corruption. The paper made use of secondary data and uses the Institutional Corruption Theory as the theoretical framework for its analyses. It was discovered in course of our investigation that the EFCC is not resting on its oars in spite of the stupendous challenges that it faces. We have listed some of the challenges of the commission and have also made some vital recommendations that if implemented, would help the Commission to overcome those challenges. After all said and done, the political will to implement the recommendations still rest with the government of the day.
Key Words: Corruption, EFCC, Challenges, Investigation, Politics, Government.
I. INTRODUCTION
The EFCC was established in December, 2002, but actually started its operation on the 13th of April, 2003. The EFCC Act of 2002 was repealed to give way to the 2004 Act. The establishment of the EFCC was a culmination of internal and external factors. The EFCC was established due to the plan by the Obasanjo administration to eliminate graft and other fraudulent activities like mismanagement of public funds, lack of accountability and transparency by public officials. The creation of the EFCC was spurred by the need to combat corruption and to make a paradigm shift from the traditional weaker anti-corruption rhetoric and creating a robust, no-nonsense, no-holds-barred and exhaustive legislative institutional approach to anti-corruption. The regime also wanted to make a statement that it was not a lame duck administration, bereft of ideas on how to fight corruption and other malfeasance.
It was partly due to the pressure from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) on money laundering, which listed Nigeria among the 23 non-cooperative countries and territories of the world in the effort to fight money laundering globally. One of the recommendations of the FATF was the establishment of an Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) that will