“Over the past year, the ICPC has made significant progress in discharging its mandate; for example, we recovered over ₦13 billion in diverted public funds in September 2024 alone. This is just one of the many ways we have worked tirelessly to fulfil our mandate.”

These were the words with which Musa Aliyu, Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), summed up the immensity of the work the anti-graft agency has been doing in the country towards dealing with official graft in the Nigerian system.

Though he was not definite on those involved in the various scams from which the moneys were recovered from Aliyu, who made the disclosure during the launch of the commission’s 2024-2028 strategic action plan in Abuja on Wednesday, emphasised that the feat resulted from the relentlessness of the agency towards fulfilling its mandate.

It was also a day the ICPC boss disclosed the body’s new focus on digitalising its operations, which he said will position it as a leader in leveraging technology to combat corruption, adding: “We are also embarking on ICT reforms that will digitalise our operations and enable more efficient investigations, case management, and internal processes.

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“This transformation will position the Commission as a leader in leveraging technology to combat corruption, keeping us one step ahead of criminal activities in the digital age. The commission is developing a specialised curriculum aimed at enhancing the enforcement capacity of its personnel.

“This initiative equips our officers with the skills and expertise needed to address the complexities of corruption cases with the highest standards of professionalism and efficiency.

“Additionally, we are decentralising the anti-corruption effort by empowering state governments through the mobilisation of State Attorneys General. This approach ensures that state governments are equipped with the tools, knowledge, and resources necessary to effectively combat corruption at the local level.

“Because we believe prevention is better than cure, we have intensified efforts to identify institutional and administrative vulnerabilities through System Studies and Corruption Risk Assessments. We have also continued to engage with the Anti-Corruption and Transparency Units (ACTUs) in Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs), reinforcing our grassroots monitoring mechanisms.”

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Operatives of the Ogun State Police Command are combing around to ascertain whether Abayomi Oshoke, a 45-year-old, a resident of Mango Oke-Ata, actually took his own life because he could no longer continue with the present hardship in Nigeria or there are other factors to it.

This was after confirming the incident, which reportedly took place around 6:00am on September in the suburb of Abeokuta, the state capital, through Omolola Odutola, the command’s spokesman, on Tuesday.

Odutola, who confirmed that the deceased consumed an insecticide to end it all due to the hardship he was allegedly facing, explained that his sister, identified as Funmilayo, reported the incident to the Lafenwa Police Division after discovering her brother’s lifeless body in his room, with a bottle of insecticide found beside him.

She said: “A friend of the deceased visited his home and asked to see him. Upon entering the room, he discovered the victim’s body on the floor and raised the alarm after finding that the victim had ingested a mixture of insecticide and herbal concoction.

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“He left a note written in Yoruba language, explaining the reasons behind his decision. In the note, he expressed frustration with his life and stated that he felt he had no choice but to end it. A discreet investigation is currently underway.”

António Guterres, Secretary General of the United Nations, has been caught in the web of the ongoing internecine conflict in the Middle East, with Israel, one of the major actors slamming a ban on him, which forbids him from entering their country, for allegedly siding with Iran, another major actor on the opposite side.

Israel Katz, stopping short at calling the UN boss as a collaborator, had declared in a statement via X on Wednesday: “Anyone who cannot unequivocally condemn Iran’s heinous attack on Israel does not deserve to step foot on Israeli soil. This is an anti-Israel Secretary-General who lends support to terrorists, rapists, and murderers.”

The reaction came hours after Iran fired about 180 missiles into Israel, with Guterres, calling for cessation of hostilities from both sides, saying: “I condemn the broadening of the Middle East conflict, with escalation after escalation. This must stop.  We absolutely need a ceasefire.”

Indicating that the statement did not sit well with his country Katz, while declaring the UN boss persona non grata, criticised him for “his anti-Israel policy since the beginning of the war,” marking a fresh chapter in the series of escalations, that saw Israel’s heavy bombardment of parts of Lebanon in what they said was a campaign to flush out Hezbollah, the militant group, with headquarters in Beirut.

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Reports say, since Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza in response to the unprecedented attack on southern Israel on 7 October by Hamas gunmen, during which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage, more than 41,689 people, have been killed in the operation, quoting Hamas-run health ministry.

Katz’s reaction is consistent with the consistent position of Jerusalem against the global body on the conflict, especially on Gaza and the West Bank, particularly on the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, with Israel alleging that a number of the agency’s staff members had been involved in the 7 October attacks.

This resulted in the dismissal of nine staff of the UN body, after officials launched investigations on the claim, which saw some of the funders withdrawing their support and later reinstating same, found them culpable of probable guilt.

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