University don recommends life imprisonment for corrupt practices in Nigeria

Professor of Law at Abia State University (ABSU), Hagley Okorie, has called for an amendment of Nigeria’s criminal code, penal code and corrupt Practices Laws to explicitly recognise large-scale corruption as a grave offence against humanity, punishable by life imprisonment.

Okorie made the recommendation while delivering the 79th Inaugural Lecture of Abia State University on the topic “Legal Intersection between Armed Conflict, Other Situations of Violence (OSVs) and Mercantilism in Nigeria: The Need to Make Corruption a Crime Against Humanity”, held at the University Auditorium.

According to him, it is no longer sufficient to continue treating corruption merely as an economic or administrative offence, as it fuels armed groups, compromises peace processes, and assumes the character of a systematic and grave offence against humanity.

“Recognizing corruption as a crime against humanity within both domestic and international legal frameworks would close the existing accountability gap, deter complicit elites, and reinforce our collective commitment to human dignity, peace, and justice,” the university don stated.

Okorie further stressed the urgency of establishing a special court dedicated to trying and prosecuting corrupt public officers within a month, warning that corruption, if unchecked, would ultimately destroy the country.