Key points
- ICPC calls for deeper cooperation with China on anti-corruption policies, prevention and enforcement.
- The commission says it is interested in learning from China’s anti-corruption institutions and reforms.
- ACAN says ICPC recovered N37.44 billion and $2.35 million through asset seizures and forfeitures in 2025.
Main story
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) is seeking to deepen its engagement with China as Nigeria explores new approaches to preventing and combating corruption.
ICPC Chairman, Dr Musa Aliyu, SAN, said Nigeria was interested in studying China’s institutional and legal experience, particularly the operations of its National Supervisory Commission (NSC) and Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI).
Aliyu spoke on Monday at the third International Diplomatic Dialogue organised by the ICPC and its Anti-Corruption Academy of Nigeria (ACAN) in Abuja.
The meeting, which focused on China’s experience in anti-corruption policy, brought together officials to examine how lessons from Beijing could be adapted to Nigeria’s circumstances.
Aliyu said international cooperation and comparison of different anti-corruption systems could help Nigeria identify approaches capable of improving prevention and enforcement.
“We believe that China has made significant efforts through its anti-corruption bodies. The Commission will be glad to share from the strategies, policies and enforcement actions adopted by the Chinese Government to fight corruption,” he said.
He said the need for such cooperation was underscored by the damage corruption could cause to a country’s political, economic and developmental progress.
The Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria, Amb. Yu Dunhai, represented by the Chinese Cultural Counsellor, Mr Yang Jiangxing, said the two countries could broaden their cooperation by paying greater attention to preventing corruption rather than relying primarily on sanctions after offences had occurred.
Dunhai said the misuse of public authority was at the centre of corruption, making integrity and personal responsibility important parts of any effective anti-corruption system.
He drew on Confucian principles including benevolence, empathy, trustworthiness and self-discipline to explain China’s emphasis on ethical conduct in public service.
According to him, integrity was not merely a moral principle but also an important foundation for institutional stability and economic development.
“Integrity creates trust. Trust creates stability and stability creates the foundation for development. So integrity is not simply a moral virtue. It is also an economic and institutional asset,” he said.
The ACAN Provost, Prof. Sheriff Ibrahim, said Nigeria could adapt elements of China’s experience by combining political commitment, ethical values and technology in its own anti-corruption efforts.
He also outlined recent activities of the ICPC, saying the commission recovered N37.44 billion and $2.35 million through asset seizures and forfeitures in 2025.
According to him, the commission investigated 263 cases and filed 61 cases in court during the year, recording a 55.74 per cent conviction rate.
Ibrahim said the commission had also recovered more than N5.8 billion in proceeds of crime in the first half of 2026, while additional cash and assets running into billions of naira had been restrained.
He said the ICPC was simultaneously expanding its monitoring activities, including the seventh phase of its constituency and executive projects tracking exercise.
The exercise covers 1,500 projects valued at N610 billion across 21 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
Ibrahim said China’s own transformation demonstrated the importance of sustained institutional commitment.
He recalled that China had faced widespread poverty in the 1970s, before reforms that eventually produced major changes in its economy and living standards.
He attributed the country’s transformation to political will, particularly from 2013, as well as the use of technology in strengthening anti-corruption enforcement.
The issues
The dialogue focused on how Nigeria could strengthen its anti-corruption system by combining enforcement with prevention, institutional reform and public-sector ethics.
The ICPC is particularly interested in China’s anti-corruption institutions and the policies supporting their operations.
The discussions also highlighted the importance of adapting foreign experiences to Nigeria rather than simply replicating another country’s system.
For China, the discussion presented an opportunity to emphasise an approach that combines enforcement with values education and the prevention of abuse of public authority.
What’s being said
Aliyu said Nigeria could benefit from China’s experience in anti-corruption policy and enforcement.
Dunhai argued that the fight against corruption should address the character and conduct of people entrusted with public authority, rather than focus solely on punishment.
Ibrahim said Nigeria could adapt China’s combination of political will, ethical principles and technology to strengthen its own anti-corruption efforts.
What’s next
The ICPC and ACAN are expected to continue using international diplomatic dialogues to exchange knowledge with other countries on corruption prevention and enforcement.
The commission is also expected to deepen cooperation with Chinese anti-corruption institutions and examine approaches that can be adapted to Nigeria’s institutional environment.
Bottom line
Nigeria is looking to China for lessons on strengthening its anti-corruption system, with the ICPC seeking greater cooperation on institutional reform, prevention and enforcement.
The dialogue reflects a broader shift towards international knowledge exchange, while recent ICPC recovery, investigation and prosecution figures show that the commission is also seeking to strengthen domestic enforcement.
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