The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), has urged religious and traditional leaders to join the fight against corruption.
He enjoined them to use their positions as agents of social control to motivate people to work for positive changes in the country.
Fagbemi stated these today 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 (MDAs),” by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu who was represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima.
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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 statistic from www.worldometers.info as at 24th of January 2024 put our current population at 226,898,639 with the youth accounting for 70% of the said total population. This shows that the fight against economic and financial crimes will receive unprecedented boost if we take advantage of the teeming useful youth population.
“Also important is the use of religious organizations 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 organization, leader or follower is involved directly or indirectly in any activity that will negatively impact our society.”
The AGF said Tinubu was determined to collaborate with all stakeholders in tackling corruption using multi-dimensional or cocktail of approach of 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 combatting financial crimes and sundry offences. We cannot over-emphasize 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.
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