Anti-Corruption Strategies and Corruption Reduction in Nigerian Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) (Published)
This study investigates the impact of Legal Enforcement Strength (LES), Institutional Independence (II), and Transparency Mechanisms (TM) on corruption reduction (CR) within the operations of Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Guided by Institutional Theory, the research highlights the critical roles of robust legal frameworks, operational autonomy, and transparent practices in combating corruption. A cross-sectional survey design with a sample size of 536 respondents were employed, and multiple regression analysis was used to test the hypotheses. The findings revealed that TM and LES significantly enhance CR, with TM emerging as the strongest predictor. In contrast, II did not exhibit a statistically significant impact, indicating challenges related to political interference and systemic inefficiencies. The study concludes that strengthening transparency mechanisms and legal enforcement frameworks, alongside efforts to improve institutional independence, are essential for enhancing the EFCC’s effectiveness in reducing corruption in Nigeria. The EFCC should prioritise strengthening transparency mechanisms, enhancing legal enforcement frameworks, mitigating political interference to improve institutional independence, adopting advanced technologies, and rebuilding public trust through awareness campaigns to combat corruption in Nigeria effectively.
Keywords: anti-corruption strategies, corruption reduction, institutional independence, legal enforcement strength, transparency mechanisms