ICPC recovers N594b from civil servants | Nairalaw

THE Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences
Commission (ICPC) has recovered N594 billion allegedly stolen from
government establishments between 2016 and last year.

According to the Commission, the funds were recovered from
ex-civil servants in various Ministries, Parastatals and Agencies
(MDAs) across the country.

Involved in the sharp practice are retired civil servants still
drawing salaries and others in the service but collecting double
salaries.

Johnson Oludare, an Assistant Director, Special Initiative on
Continuous Audit, broke the news at the North Centre Town Hall
meeting organised by the African Center for Media & Information
Literacy with the theme: “Whistleblowing and fight against
corruption” in Minna, Niger State.

HHe said: “The N594,089,136,242 billion were monies recovered
from 800 ex-employees that are still collecting salaries and
benefits, 400 that are still in active service, but collecting
double salaries, while 1200 staff connived with Micro Finance Banks
to steal from various MDA between 2016 and 2018.”

According to Oludare, recoveries were from two class of
individuals namely, the classified political thieves and the
unclassified thieves that connived with MDAs, parastatals and
agencies to steal public funds.

The director noted that the anti-graft agency is confronted with
a lot of challenges in the discharge of its duties that include
lack of legal frame work, adequate funding, lack of public
awareness as well as lack of proper organisation of the
whistleblowing unit, among others.

Another official of the ICPC, Jimoh Suleiman, urged members of
the public to speak out against corrupt practices by individuals in
organisations in order to help in the investigation and prosecution
of corrupt persons. He said: “The problem sometimes is that corrupt
practices are shrouded in secrecy and brought to the open when
things go wrong among those involved.”

He also called on the public to desist from malicious
whistleblowing forwarding only true information to the
anti-corruption agency.

The Niger State Acting Director of the National Orientation
Agency (NOA), Yahaya Ibrahim Gbongbo, said the fight against
corruption can be achieved through value reorientation of the
public.

“Corruption is responsible for the slow paste of development.
That is why as a nation, the Federal Government and the legislature
must come up with a strong incorruptible legislation to fight it,”
the NOA director said.