By Ramatu Garba
The Independent Corrupt Practices And Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), has urged journalist to be proactive in the reportage of corrupt practices and other related offences in the country.
The ICPC Resident Commissioner in Kano State, Ibrahim Garba-Kagara, gave the advice during a one-day capacity building training for media practitioners on ‘Effective Reportage of ICPC Operations and Initiatives, held on Thursday in Kano.
He said the training was to equip journalists with requisite knowledge about ICPC operations and initiatives, to enhance their skills in reporting corruption issues.
“No agency in the world can fight the menace of corruption alone without the support of stakeholders like the media,” Garba-Kagara said.
An Assistant Commissioner, Mr Hassan Salihu, recalled that in 2020, the commission recovered N16 billion from the Federal Ministry of Agriculture moved from the coffers of government in suspicious circumstances.
“ICPC recovered N2.5 billion in a personal account of a deceased staff of Ministry of Agriculture and traced N2.67 billion for school feeding funds to private account in 2020,” he added.
He attributed corruption in the country to greed, societal pressure, inadequate renumeration and conflict of interest among others.
“There is need for collective and concerted efforts by every Nigerian to fight the menace of corruption,” Salihu said.
Also, the ICPC Head of Operation Kano Office, Abubakar Jibrin, said the commission had recovered N450.9 billion assets and tracked 3,422 projects across the country from 2019 to 2022.
“We investigated 4,705 cases, filed 309 cases in court and secured 85 convictions within the period under review,” he added.
The ICPC Head of Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Gold, said journalists have a pivotal role to play in the fight against corruption.
Gold therefore on them to be the proper watchdog of the society by playing the unique role of disseminating necessary information that can change the society for the better.
