London-Based Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) has signed a historic agreement with Nigeria’s leading agency, Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Crimes Commission (ICPC), responsible for tackling corruption in the public sector, recognising the need for increased transparency and accountability to address environmental crime.
  
The Chairman of ICPC, Dr Musa Aliyu, SAN, and EIA’s Securing Criminal Justice Programme Lead, Justin Gosling, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), opening the door for increased cooperation and information sharing between the organisations.
  
Aliyu recognised the importance of addressing corruption within the field of environmental crime, stating: “Environmental crimes such as wildlife trafficking, pollution and those contributing to climate change pose a major threat to Nigerians.
  
“The role of public sector corruption is unacceptable and the ICPC looks forward to cooperating with the EIA to improve our response to this important area of criminal activity.”
  
EIA has been working for almost five years in Nigeria and West and Central Africa, developing the capacity of investigators, raising awareness and understanding among prosecutors and the judiciary, forging relationships with the public and private financial sectors and assessing and developing new endangered species legislation, in addition to supporting civil society organisations in the region. 
  
Gosling said the new partnership was critical to evolving the response to environmental crime in the region. “Environmental criminal networks are driven by profit and financial gain and the role of corruption in public sectors cannot be underestimated,” he said.