By: Alex A. Bah, Public Relations Assistant, ACC
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has on Tuesday 21st May, 2024, played host to 42 Student Officers of Course 46 of the Armed Forces Command and Staff College (AFCSC) from Jaji, Kaduna, Nigeria.
The visit by the Team at the Conference Room, Integrity House Tower Hill, Freetown forms part of a study tour aimed at strengthening defence and diplomatic ties with the theme "Leveraging Good Governance for Operational Efficiencies of Security Forces”.
Welcoming the Team, Deputy Commissioner of the ACC, Augustine Foday Ngobie expressed delight to receive the delegation from Nigeria, stating that the Commission is even more pleased to get to share with them its efforts in the fight against a plague that poses a huge security threat. He disclosed to them the reason for the establishment of the Commission, noting that, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Report revealed that corruption was a major cause of Sierra Leone's eleven years bloody unrest.
Mr. Ngobie furthered that the Commission's mandate is contained in the Anti-Corruption Act of 2008 (As amended in 2019), repealing the initial 2000 Act. "We have Prosecutorial authority that the Act provides, without having to go through the Director of Public Prosecution's Office. This has enhanced our work and made us robust" asserting that, the Commission has recovered whopping sums of monies in about 45 Million (New) Leones, or about $3.5 Million United States Dollars and recently made public display of one of such recoveries.
The DC stated that the innumerable successes of the ACC have been possible because of the unprecedented Presidential and Political WILL that the Commission enjoys.
The Team Lead, Brigadier General A.M Grema, Director of Coordination, Armed Forces Command and Staff College (AFCSC), Jaji, Nigeria in his statement expressed immense admiration for the said Political and Presidential Will that the Commission enjoys, adding that the Integrity Building itself is an impressive testament.
Brigadier General Grema underscored that, the AFCSC is an institution established in 1976 to train middle level cadre officers, but overtime it has been equally training Officers and Staff from other Security Institutions including the Nigerian Anti-graft Institution-The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The Brigadier General also said that the College runs three courses that include, the Staff Duty Course, and Junior and Senior Course, with the African Study Tour being part of the Curriculum of the Senior Course.
"This is meant to afford the students the opportunity to get first-hand information and interact with relevant Stakeholders in the seven (7) countries visited this year" he disclosed.
He further stated that at the end of the training, the Students from the 7 different countries representing 7 Teams, will be expected to make presentations on what they have learnt from the study tours and on the theme earlier mentioned.
Chairman of the Commission's Advisory Board, Prince Goba Esq., took the students through a detailed and comprehensive presentation on the work of the ACC, beginning with the Legal Provisions and other International Instruments that reflects the Anti-graft Regime in the country.
He dilated on the work of the various Departments and that of the Prevention, Public Education, Assets Declaration, Intelligence, Investigations, and Prosecution stating the continued partnership with other accountability bodies. This he maintained has contributed positively to the general output of the ACC, especially in the last six years, which is represented in the unprecedented performance in every local and international Indexes and Assessment.
Earlier, Director of Public Education and External Outreach Department, Patrick Sandi who chaired the meeting introduced the ACC team comprising Directors and other staff members, whilst Commander C. Nwoko, Sponsor, Directing Staff, Nigeria, introduced the visiting team.
The session was climaxed with Questions and Answers.
