Abstract

One of the major factors stymying anti-corruption war in Nigeria is institutional weakness. However, anti-corruption war witnessed the establishment and implementation of innovative measures towards addressing this critical area in recent time. These include the Presidential Advisory Committee on Anti-Corruption (PACAC), National Prosecution Coordination Committee (NPCC), Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), Treasury Single Account (TSA), Freedom of Information Bill (FoIB) and Whistleblower policy. While ACJA is to ensure speedy delivery of judgment by removing some technical impediments, TSA has succeeded in streamlining all government accounts into a single account, thereby blocking leakages and illicit access to government funds. So far, TSA has saved the Nigerian government over 4.6 trillion Naira (US$146 million). Whistleblower policy has also led to the recovery of about US$160 million and 8 billion Naira (USD$252 million) in looted funds. The FoIB empowers the citizens to scrutinize government activities. Added to these is the rejigging and energization of the hitherto enervated anti-corruption agencies. Expectedly, issues bordering on the institutionalization of anti-corruption fight have attracted the attention of scholars with insightful analyses. However, there has to date been little systematic evaluation of the newly introduced innovative anti-corruption measures within the framework of the existing institutions deploying to fight corruption. This article investigates the effectiveness or otherwise of innovative measures within the institutional framework. Using qualitative method, this article finds evidence that sustainability and perdurability of anti-corruption fight remain a challenge as the fight is built around and personified by individuals occupying the office at one time or the other.