First, the economic and financial crimes commission was created in December, 2002 through an Act of the national Assembly. Section 1(1) of the ECONOMIC and FINANCIAL CRIMES COMMISSION (Establishment) Act 2004 provides that there shall be a body to be known ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL CRIMES COMMISSION.
The commission began operation in April 2003 when its board was inaugurated. Section 14 of the EFCC Act 2004 defines economic and financial crimes to mean the non-violent criminal
and illicit activity committed with the defective of earning wealth illegally either individually or in a group or in an organized manner thereby violating existing legislation governing economic activities and its administration and includes any form of fraud such as involvement in narcotic drug trafficking, money laundering, embezzlement, bribery, looting and any form of corrupt malpractices, illegal arms deal, smuggling human trafficking and child labor,.
The EFCC can also be said to be a Nigerian law enforcement agency that investigates financial crimes such as advance fee fraud and money laundering
OBSERVATION
From the above discussions, it is evidently clear that both EFCC and ICPC are just another way duplication of offices and duties in Nigeria is been carried out. Both agencies perform similar functions which one agency can comfortably perform. Also that the ICPC as an agency is just existing for existing sake with its staffs having little or nothing to contribute in fighting corruption in Nigeria. Only the EFCC is making effort in prosecuting corrupt officials. But it is very sad that unconcluded cases still pending in different courts today are greater than the decided ones.
RECOMMENDATIONS
In my recommendation, I humbly wish to submit that serious reforms needs to be carried out in Nigerian ant-corruption agencies for their have not leaved up on its statutory expectations.
I humbly wish to recommend the followings;
A special anti-corruption court needs to be established to quicken or hasten up the disperse of cases relating to corrupt practices. The slow pace at which suits dealing on corruption are taken in regular courts is alarming for instance, from the first these years of the existence of the independent corrupt practices commission out of the 942 petitions it received, only 400 of them were under investigation, and only 60 are at still at the various stages of prosecution these investigations and suits consumes resources which at last corrupt official are still acquitted. So it is submitted that if the legislature can as a matter of urgency establish special courts and prescribed a short limit of periods for any litigation on corruption matters, Nigeria public and private offices will be less of corrupt officials.
There is the need for the 2 commissions to be merged into one strong and overwhelming anti-corruption agency. Money and resources are spent every month in paying salaries to workers of those commissions with little success to show for it. With the need to reduce the cost of governance and duplication of office, the EFCC and ICPC should be merged together. The Attorney general and minister of justice, Mohammed Adoke, when he appeared before the senate for screening as a ministerial nominee lent his voice to the effect that the EFCC and the ICPC should be merged.
Also, duplication of efforts and responsibilities among and between ministries, department parasitical and government agencies has been one of the major outlets through which national resources are being rested the fact remains that the aims and objective of both the EFCC and the ICPC are interwoven and coterminous. It therefore, becomes expedient, imperative and absolutely necessary to merge the two in order to save cost and conserved meager resources for government to meet other needs.
I Wish to submit also, that these commissions should as a matter of urgency be made to be totally autonomous and free from the Executive control and interference. As is evidently in Nigeria, where the president appoints the chairmen of these agencies thereby making them political appointees who are at the beck and call of the president. Political interests in the operations of these anti-graft agencies have lead to slow the pace at which justice is been meted out to corrupt officers it is clear in Nigeria that EFCC and ICPC usually goes after corrupt officials who are no longer in good terms with the president and some political godfathers in the country the loyal ones are not even arrested in the first, place even if arrested cannot be properly prosecuted.
So, if these agencies are given the free hand to prosecute any official irrespective of tribe or position he occupies, the Nigeria system will be clean of corrupt officials.
Another reason why recommend that the Economic and financial crimes commission and the independent corrupt practice commission should be merged is that while the EFCC is dynamic and functional, the ICPC appears to be pedestrian in nature with no defined sense of direction. We hear and know suits. Fluted in courts by the EFCC on regular basis against corrupt government official and private corrupt officials, The ICPC on the other hand seems to be the steeping dog that has refused to ”wake up”.
Also, the ICPC should be merged with the EFCC because ICPC has outlived Its usefulness since it has not been to convict anybody some section of its Act have said no cont act should be awarded without the enabling appropriation and cash backing. Yet the nation is awash with stories of heavy liabilities at state and local government levels.
CONCLUSION
Many giant strides have been taken to restore the image of Nigeria, to remove the clog in the wheel of development of Nigeria and to sanities the public and civil services, the public and private institution in Nigeria to no avail. But with the establishment of EFCC and ICPC with such mandates, there is light of hope that Nigeria is on the toe of victory over corruption, economic and financial crimes and other related offences shall be things of the past.
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