ABUJA, Nigeria (The Informant247) – The high level of corruption perpetuated by security chiefs among others in Nigeria is fueling insecurity in the country, officials said on Thursday.
“Bad governance, corruption plus collapse of the rule of law fuels insecurity. High military officers diverting money meant for security into their private pockets fuels insecurity,” Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Professor Bolaji Owasanoye, said, adding that corruption had eaten deep into the fabrics of Nigeria and must be confronted and dealt with squarely for stability and peace of the country.
He accused lawmakers and top military officers of corruption, and asked them to desist from practices that fuel insecurity.
He said, “Using money budgetted for security for other purposes such as hiring of prayer warriors, payment of thugs for dirty jobs for politicians, diverting special allocations for military to tackle insecurity.
“Deliberate enthronment of elephant projects that never finish. Budget padding, contract and procurement abuses, all have implications on human security. To solve insecurity in the North, there must be establishment of many schools, there must be social welfare structures. You must provide development infrastructure to end insecurity.
“So the money to fix Nigeria is in Nigeria but it’s stolen. Unless, we fix these issues, we will be groping in the dark. Why are the issues of corruption not discovered by lawmakers while doing their oversight?”
Nigeria has struggled for decades with endemic corruption among the political elite, who many Nigerians blame for widespread poverty in the country.