ICPC threatens legal action against erring anti-graft NGOs

THE Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) has threatened to take legal action against non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that flout the provision of their agreement with the agency by using the name of ICPC to arrest, detain, investigate cases, intimidate and extort money from members of the public without authorisation from the commission.

The Chairman of the commission, Ekpo Nta, gave the warning yesterday while addressing members of the National Anti-Corruption Coalition (NACC) at a public accountability forum.

He said that in as much as the commission likes working with the civil society groups that form the coalition, it would not tolerate any member who goes outside the memorandum of understanding they have with ICPC to engage in unauthorised activities.

“The commission believes that for enduring success to be achieved in fighting corruption, the crusade must be people-driven through vehicles such as a vibrant civil society.

The MoU that contains the basis for the partnership and code of conduct states that members of the coalition are expected to be at the vanguard of the demand for integrity, transparency and accountability. They are to complement the efforts of the commission by spreading the anti-corruption messages to the grassroots, monitoring accountability and transparency in governance,” he said.