The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) says it recovered ₦37.44 billion and $2.353 million in 2025 through asset seizures and forfeitures, describing the figure as one of its highest annual recoveries.
The ICPC Chairman, Dr. Musa Adamu Aliyu, SAN, disclosed this in Abuja during the Commission’s End-of-Year Engagement, Send-Forth for Retiring Staff and Annual Merit Awards Ceremony, where he said 2025 was “a pivotal year marked by substantial progress across enforcement, prevention and public enlightenment.”
Reviewing the Commission’s performance, Aliyu said ICPC investigated 263 cases, exceeding its target of 250, and filed 61 cases in court, recording a 55.74 per cent conviction rate.
He highlighted the conviction of Professor Cyril Ndifon of the University of Calabar, who was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment for offences bordering on sexual harassment and cyberbullying, as one of the year’s landmark cases, noting that the judgment demonstrated the Commission’s resolve to confront all forms of abuse of office.
On prevention, the Chairman said ICPC assessed 344 Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) using its Ethics and Integrity Compliance Scorecard, carried out 66 corruption-monitoring exercises, and tracked 1,490 government projects nationwide. He added that Systems Study and Corruption Risk Assessments were completed in 12 MDAs to address structural weaknesses that enable corruption.
Aliyu said public enlightenment efforts were intensified, with ICPC reaching over 235,000 Nigerians through 644 sensitisation activities, generating 3.5 million digital engagements, and establishing 86 Anti-Corruption Clubs and Vanguards. He added that 2,707 participants were trained at the ICPC Academy.
According to him, the Commission also strengthened collaboration with stakeholders by initiating 15 joint activities with partner institutions, while civil society organisations conducted 57 complementary engagements in support of the anti-corruption drive.
In what he described as a historic development, Aliyu announced that ICPC had, for the first time, secured the Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) allowance for its staff, reaffirming management’s commitment to personnel welfare and institutional strengthening.
He commended staff members who received merit awards, noting that the peer-driven nomination process enhanced transparency, while retiring officers were honoured for their professionalism and years of service.
Looking ahead, the ICPC Chairman urged personnel to recommit to integrity, diligence and professionalism in 2026, warning against complacency and misconduct.
“Let us recommit ourselves to building a stronger ICPC and contributing more meaningfully to the national anti-corruption agenda,” he said.
In goodwill messages, the Chairman of the Fiscal Responsibility Commission, Victor Muruako, praised ICPC’s interventions at the local government level and pledged deeper inter-agency collaboration.
The Executive Director of the Coalition for Dialogue on Africa, Souad Osman-Aden, also congratulated the Commission on its achievements, particularly in asset recovery and efforts to curb illicit financial flows.
Similarly, the Executive Director of the Centre for Fiscal Transparency and Public Integrity, Dr. Umar Yakubu, represented by Mr. Victor Agi, commended ICPC’s transparency in asset recovery and its partnership on the Accountability and Corruption Prevention Programme for Local Government.
The event marked a reflective close to what the Commission described as a year of significant impact in Nigeria’s anti-corruption fight.
