The Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Dr. Musa Adamu Aliyu (SAN), has said Nigeria cannot win the fight against corruption through arrests and prosecutions alone, insisting that the battle must begin in classrooms where ethical values and integrity are instilled in young people.
Aliyu made the remarks on Friday during the ICPC and Nigerian Law School Kano Zonal Workshop on Integrating Anti-Corruption Education into Nigerian Universities and the Nigerian Law School.
According to him, while investigating and prosecuting offenders remain key responsibilities of the commission, preventing corruption through education and character development is even more effective in building a corruption-free society.
He stressed that educational institutions provide the best environment for shaping future professionals who will uphold integrity in public and private life.
“There is no more fertile ground for preventing corruption than the classroom,” he said, noting that universities and the Nigerian Law School should produce graduates who are not only professionally competent but also committed to ethical conduct.
The ICPC chairman called for anti-corruption education to be institutionalised across higher institutions, particularly in legal education, so that future lawyers and other professionals become champions of transparency and accountability.
The workshop, themed “Institutionalising Anti-Corruption in Nigerian Legal Training,” brought together legal scholars, academics and other stakeholders to discuss strategies for embedding anti-corruption values into Nigeria’s educational system.
Aliyu expressed confidence that equipping students with strong ethical principles would reduce corrupt practices over time and strengthen national development.
He urged universities, professional bodies and policymakers to work together in promoting integrity-based education, describing prevention as a more sustainable approach than relying solely on enforcement after offences have been committed.
