Leading with Integrity: Inspiring Stories of Ethical Leadership | Edition 4
Accountability Lab
Supporting active citizens, responsible leaders and accountable institutions around the world.
Emem Ette: The Relentless Advocate for SGBV Justice in Akwa Ibom State
By Simon Ekemini
In Akwa Ibom State, where incidents of sexual and gender-based violence have scarred communities,? Emem Ette has emerged as a relentless champion for justice. Despite the daunting challenges in the judicial system in Nigeria, Ette has been committed to bringing perpetrators to justice and restoring dignity to victims.
Between 2017-2020, the Sexual Assault Referral Centres (SARS) recorded 14,889 sexual gender-based violence survivors in Nigeria. Akwa Ibom State has been in the news for some prominent incidents. In 2020, the state government assent to the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Act, aimed at protecting citizens and punishing offenders. The Akwa Ibom State VAAP Law tackles a broad spectrum of critical issues, including rape, sexual harassment, coercion, intimidation, female genital mutilation (FGM), offensive conduct, and harmful traditional practices. It also stipulates penalties for these offenses. The government established the Akwa Ibom State Government Gender-Based Violence Management Committee (AKSGBV) and the Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Response Department under the Ministry of Justice to handle these issues. With these systems birthed, the government was venturing into a terrain notorious for corruption, compromised decisions, and technicality, which impedes justice, especially when the privileged are the accused.
Halima Yusuf Atiku: A Female Prosecutor Standing Up Against Corruption in Gombe Judiciary
By Aisha Gambo
The Nigerian judiciary has often been scrutinized for corruption allegations, with accusations of bribery tainting the system. Lawyers and judges are frequently implicated in unethical practices compromising the foundational principles of justice and fairness.? According to the 2023 UNODC Corruption In Nigeria research, judges and magistrates receive the highest amount of bribes out of all public officials in the country. Nigeria also ranked 120 out of 142 in the 2023 World Justice Project Index highlighting the persistent perception of deep-rooted corruption within the country’s public institutions and the lack of rule of law and justice. The immediate past Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, has also acknowledged systemic challenges such as corruption, inefficiency, and undue influence undermining public confidence in the judiciary.?
However, despite these concerns, few courageous individuals within the system have taken a stand against corruption. One such individual is Halima Yusuf Atiku, an Assistant Chief State Counsel at the Ministry of Justice, Gombe State. Her demanding job involves prosecuting cases ranging from homicide, armed robbery, to sexual assault, and her capacity to get justice, but it is her integrity that stands her out.? As some of her colleagues have reportedly accepted bribes to amend charges or compromise cases, Halima remains resolute in her stance against corruption.?
Nadiye Garba’s Courageous Stand Against Adversity in Gombe Justice System
By Abdulrazaq Hassan
Nidiye Garba, a prosecuting counsel in the Ministry of Justice, Gombe State, holds a deep-rooted belief in the importance of upholding justice and ensuring that criminals face the consequences of their actions. This often put him at odds with the administration of criminal justice in Nigeria, which is plagued by corruption and inefficiency.
“The administration of criminal justice itself is faulty, with Nigerian prisons and police cells daily becoming congested with an influx of accused persons or suspects awaiting trial or those whose matters are still being investigated by the men of Nigeria police. Once there’s no synergy between the actors, it becomes difficult to do the work effectively. I think this is a general problem that needs to be looked at holistically to checkmate the menace often encountered in the administration of the criminal justice system,” he explains.?
The Nigerian criminal justice system faces numerous challenges, ranging from poor handling and inhuman treatment of suspects, proxy arrests, onerous and practically impossible bail conditions, delayed prosecution of cases (blamed on courts, prosecutors, and defense counsel), poor living conditions for prisoners, to corrupt practices by law enforcement officers, magistrates, judges, and lawyers.
Justice Awamem Medam Fwa: The Woman Leading the Fight for Accountability in Adamawa’s Judiciary
By Adisa-Jaji Azeez
Justice Awamem Medam Fwa, a judge in the Adamawa State Judiciary, has emerged as a celebrated advocate for transparency and accountability in a system often clouded by corruption. In her 12-year career, Awamem has boldly opposed bribery, becoming a rare beacon of integrity in Nigeria’s justice system and inspiring a wave of reform-minded colleagues.
Like many of the nation’s public institutions, Nigeria’s judiciary suffers from a complicated political system that has left it vulnerable to corruption, continuously eroding public trust. Justice Fwa has maintained an ethical line she refuses to cross, despite constant pressures.?
“It is my oath of office to do justice to any person that comes before me, irrespective of religion or tribe. I try to abide by my oath of allegiance, and I don’t take bribes. I don’t encourage wrongdoing, and I don’t engage in it,” she states.
As a result of Nigeria’s dynamic political environment, many justices find themselves pressured to compromise their ethics for personal gain or to appease powerful interests. The judiciary’s integrity is undermined by such actions, making Justice Awamem’s stance more courageous.
Kingsley Chukwu: A Beacon of Integrity in Nigeria’s Ailing Police Force
By Angela Omale
In Nigeria’s volatile security landscape, where violence, corruption, and limited resources cast shadows over law enforcement, one officer, Kingsley Chukwu, has braved the odds to uphold professionalism by refusing to compromise his values despite overwhelming obstacles.
With daily headlines dominated by reports of attacks, kidnappings, and police fatalities, the task of securing lives and property has become one of the most dangerous jobs in Nigeria. For instance, the Niger Delta Weekly? Conflict Update for February 18-24, 2024, reported the abduction of a community leader from his residence and the killing of four persons, including two police officers, at a security checkpoint by unknown gunmen at Ohii Junction in Owerri West LGA.
Chukwu, an investigator with the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) in Owerri, has spent over a decade navigating the pressures and pitfalls of these kinds of security challenges.
According to recent data by SBM Intelligence, analyzed by The Whistler, over 276 military personnel and 122 police officers were killed in action between June 2023 and April 2024. These deaths have dampened the morale of Nigeria’s security forces, leaving officers vulnerable, both physically and mentally. For many, the temptation to engage in corrupt practices as a means of survival is strong. But for Kingsley Chukwu, who has served in the police force for 11 years, the duty to protect life and uphold justice is sacred.
Mowoe Ivan Okoro, Inspiring Young Lawyers To Achieve Greater Heights
By Arinze Chijioke
“Who do you think you are? Step down a little; you take matters too seriously.”
These are some of the words thrown at Mowoe Okoro by fellow lawyers and judges, intended to pressure and discourage him from defending the truth.
But he is never cowed.
Upon graduating from the University of Benin in 1998, Okoro proceeded to law school in Enugu State, graduating in 2001. On February 26, 2003, he was called to the bar and started working as an associate with Larry Ovwromoh and Associates, a law firm located in Warri, Delta State.
In 2006, after three years of experience, he established the Sanctuary of Justice Law Firm, based in Warri, Delta State, with an office in Port Harcourt. Okoro’s first case as a lawyer was representing widows of deceased Shell employees, ensuring that the terminal benefits of their husbands were delivered to them and their children.
In over two decades of legal practice, Okoro handled numerous cases within the Nigerian legal system.?
The Evangelical Police Officer, CSP Innocent Ayabotu
By Makcit Rindap
Data from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) on corruption and policing reveals that, in 2019, police officers in Nigeria accounted for the highest number of bribes paid to public officials in the country, at 35.7%.? Data from another survey done by UNODC and National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on ?Corruption in Nigeria: Patterns and Trends published in 2024 suggests that that one out of two male police officers (46 per cent) engage in bribery when interacting with the public, while one out of three female police officers (28 per cent) do same.
Many Nigerians would not find this surprising, given the public perception of the Nigerian Police Force, partly due to documented cases of brutality against civilians and widespread extortion perpetrated by officers.?
In 2022, Superintendent Innocent Ayabotu, Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of ‘A’ Division Police Station Calabar, Cross River State, was nominated for Accountability Lab Nigeria’s Integrity Icon campaign, a campaign to find, celebrate, and connect honest government officials.? The nomination was made by one of the officers who worked under Ayabotu at ‘A’ Division, ASP Linus Akesa.
Akesa describes him as “upright,” noting that Ayabotu does not compromise on the truth. “What is wrong, he will tell you it is wrong. What is good, he will tell you it is good, irrespective of who you are,” Akesa stated.?
Kalyem Kognet: The Police Officer Going Against The Grain
By Matthew Ogune
On February 26, 2024, the Nigerian Police Force (NPF) dismissed one of three officers involved in the extortion of $3,000 from two Nigerians.
The officer, Michael Odey, a police inspector, was dismissed after Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) Alifa Omata, of Zone 16, Bayelsa State,? upheld the recommendation of the Rivers State command. The dismissal was announced by Rivers State police spokesperson, Grace Iringe-Koko.
Odey was one of the three officers recommended for dismissal by the Rivers State Command after being found guilty of extorting $3,000.?The others involved were Doubara Edonyabo and Talent Mungo, both Assistant Superintendents of Police (ASPs). When asked why the two others had not been dismissed, Mrs. Iringe-Koko explained that their higher ranks as ASPs meant that their dismissal required approval from the Inspector General of Police and the Police Service Commission to ensure a fair and just resolution.
A 2024 report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) titled ‘Corruption in Nigeria: Patterns and Trends’ shows that the police rank high among the corruptible public officials.? The survey data suggest that one out of two male police officers (46 per cent) engage in bribery when interacting with the public, while? one out of three female police officers (28 per cent) behave similarly. Aside public perception, the police also deals with internal administrative issue that impedes the quality of work. In July, the Force dismissed a corporal, Buba Adamu, for refusing to report to his new post in Kaduna State. The spokesperson for the Cross River Police Command, SP Irene Ugbo, disclosed this during a press briefing in Calabar, the state capital.