ICPC Convenes Follow-Up Workshop in Kano to Develop Anti-Corruption Curriculum for Nigerian Law Schools
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has convened a follow-up curriculum development workshop in Kano as part of ongoing efforts to institutionalise anti-corruption education within Nigeria’s legal education system.
Declaring the workshop open, the former Director-General of the Nigerian Law School, Professor Isa Hayatu Chiroma, SAN, described the engagement as a critical step in the Commission’s broader strategy to secure the buy-in of Nigeria’s education sector in the fight against corruption.
Professor Chiroma noted that the initiative underscores the strategic importance of introducing anti-corruption values at the foundational stages of legal training, stressing that future legal practitioners must be equipped from an early stage with an understanding that combating corruption is not only a legal obligation but also a civic and moral responsibility.
According to him, the workshop, which builds on an earlier engagement held in Abuja, is expected to produce a curriculum that could eventually be adopted by the Nigerian Law School.
“The objective is to draft a curriculum that will be adopted by the Nigerian Law School,” Professor Chiroma stated.
He explained that deliberations at the previous Abuja workshop had established two possible pathways for incorporating anti-corruption studies into legal education. These include the introduction of a stand-alone anti-corruption course or the integration of anti-corruption themes into existing modules within the Nigerian Law School curriculum.
Professor Chiroma further assured participants that the curriculum development process would be rigorous, transparent and subjected to thorough scrutiny by a duly constituted committee of experts, adding that the Commission was committed to ensuring that the final document meets the highest standards of legal education.
He also commended the caliber of resource persons assembled for the workshop, noting that their expertise and experience would guarantee the development of a credible, practical, and implementable curriculum.
The workshop brought together legal educators, curriculum experts, and institutional stakeholders to advance the landmark initiative aimed at embedding anti-corruption values into Nigeria’s legal education architecture.
Presenting a paper titled *”Law Educators, Curriculum Development and Review: Emerging Challenges and the Way Forward,”* Professor Garba Saad of Bayero University, Kano, underscored the importance of curriculum development as a continuous process that must respond to evolving societal realities.
Professor Saad described the curriculum as a strategic instrument for social transformation and emphasised the need for legal education in Nigeria to adapt to emerging challenges, particularly corruption.
He stated that anti-corruption education could either be introduced as a dedicated course or systematically infused into existing courses such as Criminal Law and the Law of Evidence. According to him, any proposed curriculum framework must clearly identify the knowledge, competencies and skills expected of future legal practitioners.
The education expert further stressed that effective curriculum development requires broad stakeholder participation involving needs assessment, consultations, implementation, monitoring and evaluation to ensure relevance and sustainability.
Also presenting at the workshop, Deputy Director and Head, Open and Distance Learning Division of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Dr. Nte Bisong, highlighted the opportunities presented by the Core Curriculum and Minimum Academic Standards (CCMAS) framework for integrating anti-corruption principles into legal education.
Dr. Bisong explained that the overarching goal of incorporating anti-corruption content into the CCMAS for Law programmes is to produce lawyers who are intellectually proficient, ethically grounded and profoundly committed to the anti-corruption crusade.
Tracing the evolution of curriculum development in Nigeria, he outlined key reforms introduced under the CCMAS framework, including the 70:30 curriculum-sharing formula, under which the NUC develops 70 per cent of programme content while universities are permitted to develop the remaining 30 per cent in line with their institutional strengths and peculiarities.
According to him, the CCMAS places significant emphasis on competency-based learning, entrepreneurship, employability and 21st-century skills acquisition, as well as information and communication technology, all aimed at producing globally competitive graduates.
Dr. Bisong further disclosed that the development of the CCMAS adopted the triple-helix model, which brings together academia, industry, professional bodies, and government institutions in the curriculum development process to ensure that graduates possess the knowledge, skills, and behavioural attributes required by employers and society.
Participants at the workshop reaffirmed that integrating anti-corruption education into legal training represents a long-term investment in systemic change and an important strategy for strengthening ethical standards within the legal profession.
As part of the next steps, participants agreed that the immediate task of the Kano workshop is to produce a substantive draft anti-corruption curriculum for institutional review and possible adoption by the Nigerian Law School.
A dedicated committee is expected to be constituted to further review and refine the draft curriculum, while additional stakeholder engagements will be convened to build consensus and facilitate eventual adoption.
The Kano workshop is the second in a series of engagements being coordinated by the ICPC to develop an anti-corruption curriculum for Nigeria’s legal education sector. While the Abuja workshop laid the conceptual foundation for the initiative, the Kano engagement focused on substantive content development and broader stakeholder alignment.
The Commission maintains that sustainable anti-corruption outcomes require not only enforcement actions but also a deliberate transformation of professional culture, beginning with the training of lawyers who serve as officers of the court and custodians of justice.
