ICPC Chair Appeals to Senate for Increased Funding

The Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Dr. Musa Adamu Aliyu, has appealed to the Nigerian Senate to significantly increase the commission’s budgetary allocation, warning that inadequate funding is crippling anti-corruption efforts and putting staff at grave risk.

 

Dr. Aliyu made the appeal on Tuesday during the ICPC’s 2026 budget defence before the Senate Committee on Anti-corruption and Financial Crimes, where he disclosed that one of the commission’s staff was kidnapped just days ago and remains in captivity, underscoring the dangers faced by operatives in the line of duty.

 

According to him, the commission has continued nationwide operations despite severe financial constraints, including poor releases and repeated budget cuts.

 

“Without adequate funding, there is no way this agency can function effectively,” the ICPC chairman told lawmakers.

 

“Our staff morale is very low. They investigate highly sensitive and risky cases, yet they are poorly supported.”

 

Dr. Aliyu revealed that although the commission recorded a high utilisation rate of released funds, the actual amount made available was grossly insufficient to meet operational needs.

He explained that budgetary rejections and limited releases had forced ICPC investigators and prosecutors to sometimes fund investigations and court appearances from their personal resources, particularly legal fees.

 

“Sometimes, our lawyers use their own money to go to court because once a matter is in court, it must be pursued,” he said.

 

Despite funding challenges, the ICPC chairman said the commission filed 72 cases, currently manages over 400 ongoing criminal cases, received 1,177 petitions, assigned 700 for investigation, and completed investigations on 250 cases within the review period.

 

He added that ICPC also deployed preventive and advisory interventions across 342 government agencies, as part of efforts to reduce corruption risks in public institutions.

 

Dr. Aliyu appealed to the Senate committee to visit ICPC facilities nationwide to see first-hand the poor state of infrastructure and staff offices, some of which he described as “not fit for purpose.”

“I am appealing to this committee to intervene so that ICPC can have improved funding, better infrastructure and enhanced staff welfare,” he said.

 

“Without these, our work will suffer, and it will also affect Nigeria’s image globally.”

He stressed that strengthening ICPC through better funding is critical to sustaining Nigeria’s anti-corruption drive and improving the country’s standing on global corruption perception indices.

 

Sharing their plight, the Committee, led by Senator Udenden Emmanuel vowed to improve the budgetary allocation to the Commission to enable it perform it’s mandate effectively.