The Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, AGF, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, has asked religious and traditional leaders in the country to join the fight against corruption in the interest of the general development of the nation.
He enjoined them to use their positions as agents of social control to motivate people to work for positive changes in the country.
Fagbemi made the appeal on Wednesday in Abuja at the opening of a public engagement on youth, religion and the fight against corruption organised by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.
The event featured the launch of the ‘Interfaith Preaching and Teaching Manuals” and “Fraud Risk Assessment Project for Ministries, Departments and Agencies,” by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu who was represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima.
Fagbemi said: “There is no doubt that our nation is blessed with both human and natural resources which must be effectively annexed and deployed for us to witness the desired progress in our national life.
“The statistics from www.worldometers.info as at 24th of January 2024 put our current population at 226,898,639 with youth accounting for 70 per cent of the said total population.
“This shows that the fight against economic and financial crimes will receive an unprecedented boost if we take advantage of the teeming useful youth population.
“Also important is the use of religious organisations as an indispensable partner in the fight against economic and financial crimes.”
He added: “It is not in doubt that religion serves as an agent of social control of behaviour and motivates people to work for positive change.
“It should therefore not be heard that a religious organisation, leader or follower is involved directly or indirectly in any activity that will negatively impact our society.”
The AGF said Tinubu is determined to collaborate with all stakeholders in tackling corruption using a multi-dimensional approach for the prevention of crimes as well as effective and efficient investigation and prosecution of offenders.
“It is on this note that I am urging our religious leaders and teeming youth to take ownership of the fight against corruption and to effectively collaborate with the EFCC in combating financial crimes and sundry offences.
“We cannot overemphasise the importance of a collective effort in the fight against corruption. This fight is real; and we must pungently successfully fight it to a standstill,” he added.
