The federal government has urged African countries to form stronger institutional collaboration to fight illicit wealth and transnational corruption.

The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, made the call during a seminar commemorating the 2026 African Union Anti-Corruption Day on Friday in Abuja.

Mr Fagbemi said African countries should strengthen mutual legal assistance, intelligence sharing, joint investigations, and institutional cooperation to deny criminals safe havens in the region.

The seminar, themed “Scaling Up the Promotion of Integrity and Anti-Corruption Actions Across Africa”, was organised by the Inter-Agency Task Team (IATT), a coordinating forum of agencies with anti-corruption and accountability mandates.

Mr Fagbemi, represented by Odegbaro Gladys, Director, Solicitors Department in the Ministry of Justice, underscored the need for African countries to strengthen integrity and accountability as corruption becomes increasingly sophisticated.

“Our experience has demonstrated that international cooperation is indispensable in combating corruption. Illicit financial flows, money laundering, and transnational organised crime do not respect national borders.

“Consequently, African countries must continue to strengthen mutual legal assistance, intelligence sharing, joint investigations, and institutional cooperation in order to deny criminals safe havens for illicit wealth.

“Nigeria remains committed to fulfilling its obligations under the African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption and other relevant international instruments.

“We will continue to work with our African brothers and sisters to build stronger regional institutions capable of addressing emerging corruption risks,” he said.

The AGF said the federal government had continued to implement reforms to strengthen public institutions, improve transparency, enhance fiscal accountability, and reinforce the administration of justice.

The minister said his ministry was providing the legal and policy framework needed to support the reforms and ensure justice was administered fairly and efficiently.

He added that the recovery and transparent management of proceeds of crime remained a key pillar of the country’s anti-corruption policy.

The minister said Nigeria was strengthening cooperation with domestic institutions and international partners on asset tracing, confiscation, recovery, and repatriation.

According to him, stolen public assets belong to the people and should be recovered and deployed transparently for projects that improve citizens’ welfare.

Mr Fagbemi said Africa’s vast human and natural resources could only deliver sustainable development if managed with integrity, accountability, and justice.
He reaffirmed Nigeria’s readiness to continue working with the AU member states and international partners to build an Africa where integrity is rewarded, corruption is confronted decisively, and justice is served as the foundation for shared prosperity.

Musa Aliyu, the chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), called for stronger collaboration among governments, anti-corruption agencies, civil society, and the private sector to promote integrity and curb corruption across Africa.

Mr Aliyu said promoting integrity through collective action, stronger institutions, ethical leadership, youth engagement, and technology was critical to addressing corruption and strengthening public trust in governance across the continent.

(NAN)