Journal of African Studies and Sustainable Development

Corruption is a universal phenomenon. Nigerian society is highly flooded with corrupt practices that are presented in different forms such as bribery, extortion, fraud, nepotism, theft, kickbacks and illegal awarding of contracts, to mention but a few. Nigeria has been at the forefront of the most corrupt nations in the world. Previous studies on corruption in Nigeria have not exhausted the search for possible solutions from the ethical standpoint of Christianity. The qualitative research method was adopted, while the collection of data was through secondary sources and internet materials. The Federal Government’s efforts at combating the menace of corruption through the establishment of anti-corruption agencies like the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offenses Commission (ICPC) have not yielded much result. Hence, this paper argues that contemporary churches have a responsibility towards stopping corruption in the country, if not totally, at least to some manageable extent. Therefore, aside from prayer and fasting, preaching and teaching against corruption which is customary to contemporary churches, Moral education and awareness, Advocacy and accountability, Support for anti-corruption initiatives and promoting ethical leadership are some of the ethical responsibilities of the church suggested to facilitate the bringing back of sanity to the country from all forms of corrupt practices that have bedevilled Nigeria. However, it is recommended that all hands should be on deck in the church to sanitize the country of all forms of corruption because the church is supposed to be the custodian of moral values in society.

Open Full Text (PDF)