Corruption has been identified as one of Nigeria’s most stubborn challenges; it has been a recurring decimal in almost every facet of our national life and has been described many times as a cankerworm that has eaten deep into the fabric of our nation. It pervades almost every level of government, the private sector, the informal sector, even religious organisations are not spared from the ravenous fangs of this hydra-headed monster.

The existential threat that corruption poses to the sustenance of our national life and society prompted President Olusegun Obasanjo to officially inaugurate the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) in September 2000; just a year after the return of democratic rule to Nigeria. Their mandate was to receive and investigate reports of corruption and inappropriate cases; prosecute the offender. Additionally, they were set up to examine, review and enforce the correction of corruption-prone systems and procedures of public bodies, to eliminate corruption in public life, and to enlighten the public against corruption and related offences to enlist and foster public support in the fight against corruption.
In 2003, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was also established in the country partially in response to pressure from an international body called the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering; which named Nigeria as one of the 23 countries non-cooperative in the international community’s efforts to fight money laundering. Upon creation, the agency was charged to decisively tackle the menace of economic and financial crimes in all aspects of government and the society at large.