Controller General of the Nigerian Correctional Service, (NCoS) Haliru Nababa has warned personnel of the service to maintain highest standard of ethics in the discharge of their duties.

He gave the warning at a public lecture in commemoration of the 2023 International Anti-Corruption Day, organised by the Anti-Corruption and Transparency Unit, (ACTU), a unit of the NCoS in partnership with the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission, (ICPC), yesterday in Abuja.

He said Nigerian government has in recent past prioritised the anti-corruption campaign in their policy directions, signaling the level of damage corrupt practices have visited on the country.

According to him, “This position is further emphasised by Nigeria’s current rating in the global corruption perception index.

“It is on the strength of the above, that the NCoS has keyed into this firm anti-corruption posture of the Federal Government in actualizing its statutory mandate.”

Nababa pointed that the service would not hesitate to deal with anyone who goes against its anti-corruption regulations and urged officers to endure the rigours discipline in alignment with the anti-corruption posture of his administration.

He said “No doubt, if all national governments make individual commitments to this noble cause through integrity and forthrightness, the entire world will be the better for it. Today’s event offers us yet another opportunity to further chart this cause.

“For us in the NCoS, our call to shun all corrupt tendencies is a higher one, considering the sensitivity of our mandate and the need to promote a high sense of morality, discipline, probity and professionalism.

“Our zero tolerance for any form of sharp practice among officers and men has remained sacrosanct.

“The Service has never hesitated in sanctioning any personnel found culpable of any established corrupt practice and have responsibly supported all anti-corruption organs of government in carrying out their operations as it concerns our Service and/or personnel, “he said.

Pointing that the service had also maintained a commendable rating in the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related Offences Commission’s (ICPC) Ethics and Integrity Compliance Scorecard for a number of years now, he reiterated the commitment of the service to fight corruption saying that the service had kept the service on the path of development through due diligence.

ICPC Chairman, Dr Musa Aliyu, said that the gathering was not only to remind the nation of the danger of the corruption pandemic but to also highlight the global efforts and milestones so far achieved to tame the hydra-headed monster.

Represented by Godwin Oche, a director in the agency, he said that the service had over the years been a dependable ally of the ICPC, assiduously supporting the work of the Anti-Corruption and Transparency Unit (ACTU) of the Service to reduce the menace of corruption in the system.

The ICPC chairman said that the theme for this year’s celebration speaks to the incalculable damage corruption had done and still doing to humanity.

He notes that corruption is a universal pandemic with no regard for social, political, gender, and even religious inclinations. It has often been described as a hydra-headed monster defiant of a single strategy to kill it.

“Corruption is a potent killer, Corruption is a global issue that cannot be tackled by one country of the actor alone. It requires a multilateral response that takes the form of a whole of society
approach.

“All stakeholders must act collectively to tackle corruption effectively. An effective fight against it requires coordinated action as the potential for collateral damage is ever present.

“But by standing together and working together, corruption stands no chance and society will reap
the benefits of a robust culture of integrity that will heal our land, “he said.