Anti-corruption agencies in the country have warned that “chronic underfunding” is undermining investigations, prosecutions, and staff welfare.
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences
Commission (ICPC) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)
raised the concerns on Tuesday during their 2026 budget defence by the senate
committee on anti-corruption and financial crimes.
Musa Adamu Aliyu, ICPC chairman, said funding constraints
have forced prosecutors to bankroll court appearances from personal funds,
while several investigations have stalled due to lack of logistics and
operational resources.
“Our major challenge remains funding. Prosecutors sometimes
use their personal money to go to court, and several investigations could not
proceed as scheduled because we could not pay service providers,” Aliyu said.
He noted that although N10.13 billion out of the N10.62
billion appropriated for personnel costs in 2025 was released, only N2.2
billion of the N7.82 billion overhead allocation was disbursed, representing 28
percent.
“For capital expenditure, only N449 million out of N7.3
billion approved was released, and that came very late, on November 28, 2025,”
he added.
Aliyu said the commission recovered N33.1 billion in cash,
$1.98 million and various assets, filed 72 cases, secured 36 convictions,
handled 453 ongoing cases and processed over 1,100 petitions despite the
constraints.
“Some cases take between two and five years to conclude.
Funding constraints affect travel, document retrieval, forensic tools, and
manpower. We have to prioritise cases based on available resources,” he said.
He warned that poor funding has affected staff morale and
security, noting that one of the commission’s personnel was recently kidnapped.
“My staff morale is very low. Their welfare is poor, yet
they investigate highly sensitive and risky cases. Two days ago, one of our
staff was kidnapped and is still in captivity,” he said.
Aliyu urged the national assembly to improve funding and
infrastructure, adding that some state offices still operate from rented
facilities.
“Without adequate funding, there is no way this agency can
effectively fight corruption. It will also affect Nigeria’s image globally,” he
said.
Ola Olukoyede, EFCC chairman, also told the committee that
only 74 percent of the commission’s total 2025 appropriation was released,
while capital releases stood at about 50 percent.
“Most of our contractors have not been serviced, including
licence providers. This will pose a major problem for us going forward because
we need those licences to continue our work,” Olukoyede said.
He said the EFCC proposed about N88 billion for 2026,
including N22.8 billion for capital projects, but warned that outstanding
obligations from 2025 could hinder new projects.
Olukoyede also disclosed that about N3 billion is owed in
severance benefits to 32 retired officers.
Emmanuel Udende, chairman of the senate committee, described
the situation as unfortunate and pledged improved support for the agencies.
“It is sad that funding for anti-corruption agencies is very
poor compared to other countries. We will see what we can do to improve it,”
Udende said.
He said the committee would work to ensure the agencies are
adequately resourced to deliver on their mandates.
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