By Usman Umar
The Independent Corrupt Practices And Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has urged journalist to be proactive in the reportage of corrupt practices and other related offences.
The ICPC Resident Commissioner Kano, Ibrahim Garba-Kagara, gave the advice during a one-day capacity building training for media practitioners on “Effective Reportage of ICPC’s Operations and innitiatives held on Thursday in Kano.
He said the training was aimed to synergize and equip journalist with requisite knowledge about the ICPC operations and initiatives to enhance their skills and stay ahead in this fast-paced world of media.
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“No agency in the world can fight the menace of corruption alone without the support of stakeholders and media” Garba-kagara said
On his part, the ICPC Headquarters Assistant Commissioner, Mr Hassan Salihu, said in 2020 the commission recovered N16 billion from ministry of Agriculture.
“ICPC recovered N2.5 billion in a personal account of a deceased staff of Ministry of Agriculture and traced N2.67 billion for school feeding funds to private account in 2020”
He said that the causes of corruption are greed, societal pressure, inadequate renumeration and conflict interest among others.
“There is need for collective and concerted efforts for every Nigerian to fight the menace of corruption ”
Also, the ICPC Head of Operation Kano Office, Barr Abubakar Jibrin, said the commission recovered N450.9 billion assets and tracked 3,422 projects across the country from 2019 to 2022.
“We investigated 4,705 cases,filed 309 cases in court and secured 85 convictions within the period review”
Also, the Head Media and Publicity ICPC, Mr Femi Gold, said journalist has a pivotal role in the fight against corruption.
Gold called on the media to be the watchdog of the society to play the unique role of disseminating necessary information that can change the society for better.