Abstract:
Corruption is recognized as the bane of the Nigerian society as it undermines governance. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was established to mitigate the menace of economic and financial crimes in Nigeria. This was informed by the upsurge of corruption by government officials and the need to enthrone probity in governance in the country. This study therefore appraises the performance of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in reducing corruption in Nigeria. It examines the impact of immunity of public officeholders and the arrests and prosecution of corrupt government officials on the effective enforcement of economic and financial crime laws in Nigeria by the EFCC. It utilized the qualitative method in the collection and analysis of data; while structural functional theory served as the theoretical framework of analysis. The study demonstrated that immunity of public officeholders has not hindered the effective enforcement of economic and financial crimes laws by EFCC in Nigeria. It also revealed that arrests and prosecution of government officials by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has not reduced the incidence of corruption among government official in Nigeria. It therefore, concludes that the enforcement of the economic and financial crimes laws in Nigeria by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has not led to reduction in economic and financial crimes by public officeholders. It therefore recommends enhancing the independence of EFCC and the passage of the Special Courts (Establishment) Bill to designate specific courts to hear corruption cases to facilitate prosecution of corrupt officials.
