The Rector, Kogi State Polytechnic, Lokoja, Prof. Salihu Ogbo Usman, has called for the introduction of the death penalty as a constitutional punishment for corruption in Nigeria, describing corruption as the root cause of the country’s insecurity, poverty, and socio-economic decline.
The Professor of Political Economy made the call on Wednesday while delivering his inaugural lecture as the 37th Inaugural Lecturer of the university in Lokoja, Kogi State.
Ogbo, in his lecture titled “Corruption Versus Corruption: Unpacking The Wuru-Wuru of the Anti-Corruption Crusade In Nigeria,” lamented the menace of corruption in Nigeria’s political and socio-economic landscape.
He argued that Nigeria’s current anti-corruption framework is riddled with “wuru-wuru” — deception and insincerity — and has failed to deter large-scale commission of the crime.
According to him, civil society organisations should mount sustained pressure on the legislative and executive arms of government to amend the constitution to introduce capital punishment, including the death penalty, for corruption-related offences, noting that many countries with low corruption perception indices retain capital punishment within their criminal justice systems.
Ogbo stated that corruption has produced devastating consequences across all sectors of national life, linking it directly to poverty, youth unemployment, insecurity, and Nigeria’s deteriorating global image.
He lamented that successive governments since 1999 have politicised the fight against corruption through selective prosecution and the abuse of the prerogative of mercy, which he said has weakened anti-corruption agencies and trivialised justice.
He further criticised the pattern whereby administrations grant pardon to persons convicted under previous governments, while no former Nigerian president has ever been held accountable for corruption linked to their administrations.
Highlighting empirical evidence from his scholarly works, Usman cited a study on ghost workers in Kogi State’s civil service, which revealed that corruption-driven recruitment processes inflated wage bills, denied employment to qualified applicants and undermined public service efficiency. He described ghost workers as direct products of greed and corruption.
Beyond the death penalty, the professor proposed the establishment of Centres for the Study of Corruption in Nigerian universities, urging the Federal University Lokoja to take the lead.
He also advocated the constitutional incorporation of indigenous oath-taking systems as deterrents against corruption, arguing that traditional accountability mechanisms were more effective than modern religious-based oaths.
He warned that corruption has eroded Nigeria’s identity to the point that citizens now face “Nigeria Must Go” protests in other African countries, citing recent demonstrations in Ghana.
Ogbo concluded that unless Nigeria adopts drastic and sincere measures, including capital punishment for corrupt practices, the country would continue to suffer economic stagnation, insecurity, and international ridicule, insisting that corruption remains the central obstacle to national development.
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