Immediate past British High Commissioner to Nigeria Richard Gozney, has identified publicity as the strongest weapon in the fight agains t corruption in the country.
Gozney was quoted as making the statement in the latest edition of “ICPC News”, a publication by the country’s anti-graft agency, the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission.
He stressed that publicity was important in highlighting individual cases of corruption.
”There is more that publicity does than the actual court process and I think th at will act as a deterrent to others,” he stressed.
According to him, it is important to spread the anti-corruption message to the public domain so that more people will be discouraged from indulging in corrupt practices.
”The way to do that is through publicity and not just a few court cases which d rag on and on until everyone gets to forget them.
”I think the media can do this effectively,” he said.
Gozney, however, said a strong publicity drive in the fight against corruption must be combined with sound investigation and a virile judicial process.
He said the anti-corruption agency had shown courage, given the number of persons kept behind bars in the last few years.
The former high commissioner described as intimidating, the searchlight on former governors and top government functionaries.
He commended the collaboration between the Independent Corrupt Practices and Oth er Related Offences Commission and the London Metropolitan Police in the fight against corruption.
