By Mercy Gadia Adi
In a passionate call for judicial reforms and strategic repositioning in the fight against corruption, the Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal Mainasara Kogo Umar has proposed the establishment of an independent Code of Conduct and Anti-Corruption Court.
Speaking during an Interview, After an investigative hearing by the house committee on Anticorruption to investigate the MDAs Compliance to establish anti-corruption and transparency Unit (ACTUs), Mainasara said, the move, he says, is vital to ensure timely and effective adjudication of corruption cases and to restore Nigeria’s image on the global stage.
“Fight against corruption is a responsibility on everybody,” Mr. Mainasara said during his public address. “Section 15, Subsection 5 of the Nigerian Constitution makes it clear — the state, which includes everyone within it, must fight all corrupt practices and abuse of power.”
Mr. Mainasara explained that, Nigeria’s current judicial system is overburdened and structurally unfit to handle the magnitude of corruption-related cases. He lamented the prolonged duration of trials, with some stretching over two decades without resolution.
“We need a court that, within the engines of two to six weeks, should be dispensing justice, It is not in the interest of Nigeria to have corruption chases languishing for 20 or more years,” he urged.
He also criticized the funding structure of anti-corruption institutions, particularly the Act Two agencies, which were established in 2001.
He noted that the expectation was for the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) to assume oversight by 2002. However, due to financial dependency on the very institutions being investigated, the progress has stagnated.
“You cannot fight institutions in a situation where the heads of those institutions are the ones funding the fight. It’s really wrong, . “We need actors to be independent,” he said.
Emphasizing the dynamic nature of corruption, the Chairman called for regular strategic reviews to keep up with evolving tactics used by corrupt actors.
“The same way strategies for corruption are changing, we, the fighters of corruption, should equally be changing our strategies periodically so that we’ll be able to be doing it judiciously,” he noted.
To address these challenges, he further roposed amending the existing Code of Conduct Tribunal to be rebranded and elevated as the “Code of Conduct and Anti-Corruption Court”, a superior court of record empowered to adjudicate all forms of corruption — including bribery, contract inflation, abuse of office, sexual harassment, and ostentatious living.
“All aspects of corruption should be brought before us, so that we serve as a model of an exemplary court of summary trial,” concluded.
His proposal also includes constitutional amendments to sections 36 and 230–304, ensuring a fully independent judicial structure dedicated to corruption cases.