Are Nigeria’s Anti-Graft Agencies Truly Serving the Public?

By Abidemi Adebamiwa

Nigeria witnessed something familiar again this week. Aliko Dangote spoke, and the system moved immediately. Within hours of his petition against the NMDPRA chief, the ICPC confirmed receipt and announced that an investigation would begin. The House of Representatives quickly called emergency committee meetings. Government officials signaled urgency. Everything shifted with a speed that ordinary Nigerians rarely see.

This is what raises questions for me. I read that SERAP petitioned the ICPC and EFCC on August 15, 2025, to investigate the National Assembly over the alleged bribe-for-bills scandal. Another petition followed on November 3, 2025, on the alleged diversion of ₦18.6 billion meant for the National Assembly office complex. These petitions have gone unanswered for months. Yet, Dangote’s petition of December 16, 2025, received public confirmation the same day.

Senator Natasha Akpoti Uduaghan’s experience fits the same pattern. In May 2025, she said senior lawmakers, including Senator Godswill Akpabio, used committee probes and oversight powers to pressure ministers for kickbacks. She described it as a normal practice in the Senate. The claims dominated public discussions but led to no investigation, no ethics inquiry, and not even a motion in the chamber. Earlier, in February 2025, she also accused Akpabio of sexual harassment and said her legislative work was being blocked in retaliation. Even those allegations drew silence from the institution.

All of this suggests something I can no longer ignore. Our institutions respond more to who is speaking than to what is being alleged. When a billionaire speaks, there is immediate action. When civil society or even senators raise concerns, the system hesitates. The silence of anti-graft agencies and government officials has made groups like SERAP appear powerless, not because their claims are weak, but because the institutions they petition do not respond.

This should not stop with the NMDPRA. If anti-graft agencies extend their review to other regulatory heads, they may find that similar practices exist across the system. If this moment leads to a broader and fairer response to all petitions, it will strengthen public trust. If it does not, Nigerians will draw their own conclusions about whose voices truly matter.

Abidemi Adebamiwa is the Managing Editor at Newspot Nigeria.