January 19, 2016 – High level corruption in Nigerian military has been identified as a major factor working against the war on Boko Haram and therefore fuelling extremism, Transparency International(TI) has said.
In the latest report by TI, Nigeria’s defence institutions are ranked “E” meaning they are at a “very high risk” of corruption.
The findings show that parliamentarians fail to exercise their oversight of defence and security policy, adding that defence budgets lack transparency despite making up for 20% of the national budget.
Besides, TI said soldiers fail to receive the necessary equipment to adequately fight Boko Haram as military hardware procurement is not scrutinised on grounds of national security.
“This has undermined efforts to combat the growing threat of Boko Haram”, it said, adding that positive steps have been taken by President Buhari to address corruption, including the arrest of former defence officials.
Director of Transparency International’s Defence and Security Programme, Katherine Dixon said:
“In very few places globally is the dangerous correlation between corruption and insecurity as stark as it is in Nigeria. Gaping holes in military budgets, down to a lack of oversight and transparency, are contributing to a rise in support of extremism, and crucially disabling the fight against it.”
“President Buhari has made some positive efforts, but arrests of former officials aren’t enough on their own. Failure to get this right will see funds and weapons diverted into the hands of terrorists and the fight against Boko Haram will never be won.”
Nigeria’s ranking comes amidst a context of similar results across Africa. Transparency International’s Government Defence Anti-Corruption Index looked at 47 African nations and found the majority facing very high to critical risk of defence corruption.
