Acta Universitatis Danubius. Relationes Internationales, Vol 11, No 2 (2018)

Abstract

The Economic and Financial Crime Commission has been perceived as an ivory tower in both the fight against corruption in Nigeria and repositioning the financial mal-adjustment in the Nigeria economy. Since its establishment in 2004, the commission has wielded enormous power in tackling corrupt practices stemming from several convictions of alleged corrupt political officers, tales of trials but with little charges and sentence. The activities of the Commission have become increasingly complicated as a result of it dislodged external structural and functional influence in the administration of criminal justice.  Governmental interference, poor leadership of the various successive leaders of the commission and the widespread belief that the disposition and manifestation of the leadership of the commission are politically motivated to favor all time ruling parties in Nigeria have created lacunas in their administration of criminal justice in Nigeria. This study which was anchored on the Structural Functionalist theory stressed that because the leadership of the commission is considered ineffective and lacks the confidence to fight corruption, there is a tendency that Nigeria survival cannot be sustained and for the activities of the commission to be effective and help achieve the survival of Nigeria, there must be a conscious effort by the commission to set aside leadership and ethnic sentiment and objectively fight corruption as it should be. The study concluded that the commission cannot solely fight corruption or ensuring a smooth administration of criminal justice in Nigeria because of the high political interference of the elite, poor leadership and the un-enabling environment of the commission to function and recommended that for the commission to achieved and surpass her current achievements, some level of independence is required.