Nigeria's anti corruption agency has taken steps to make integrity training a formal part of legal education in the country, convening a workshop with law school deans to design a workable framework for embedding anti corruption studies into University and professional legal training.

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission made its position clear on Tuesday in Abuja, where it hosted law deans, legal scholars and justice sector stakeholders at a workshop themed "Institutionalising Anti Corruption Education in Nigeria's Legal Training."

Chairman of the ICPC, Musa Adamu Aliyu, SAN, declared that the debate about whether such education was needed had been settled, and attention must now shift to delivery. "The critical issue before us, therefore, is not whether anti corruption education is necessary, but how best it should be delivered," he stated.

Aliyu raised three possible approaches: embedding anti corruption content across existing law courses, incorporating it into general studies programmes, or establishing it as a standalone course. "Should it be introduced as a distinct and standalone course to provide the depth, focus, and visibility it deserves?" he asked.

The ICPC chairman noted that lawyers occupy a sensitive position within the justice system and bear significant responsibility for shaping public trust in governance. He stressed that intellectual competence alone was insufficient without strong ethical grounding.

"Combating corruption cannot be limited to investigation and prosecution alone," Aliyu disclosed. "It must also involve preventive, educational, and value driven approaches capable of shaping attitudes, strengthening ethical consciousness, and promoting a culture of integrity, transparency, and accountability."

Discussions at the workshop centred on possible inclusion of anti corruption studies in the LLB curriculum under the Core Curriculum and Minimum Academic Standards, teaching methods, lecturer training and institutional collaboration.

Aliyu described the initiative as a pilot with broader potential. "This initiative is conceived as a pilot intervention with the potential for wider application across other professional disciplines in the future," he noted, adding that outcomes from the workshop could reshape professional ethics training across national Institutions.

He reminded participants that the Commission's mandate under the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000, extends beyond investigation and prosecution to prevention and public education.