By Our Correspondent

National News – There has been public outrage following reports that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) spent ₦54 million to sponsor five judges for a foreign training trip to the United Kingdom.

The development, which has triggered debates on judicial ethics, involved participation in the 42nd International Symposium on Economic Crime held at Jesus College, Cambridge, between August 31 and September 7, 2025.

Critics argue the arrangement may undermine judicial independence.

Rights groups and analysts, including Amnesty International Nigeria, condemned the sponsorship, describing it as unethical and a potential threat to public confidence in the judiciary.

They warned that financial ties between prosecutors and judges handling corruption cases could create perceptions of bias and erode trust in the justice system.

The EFCC defended the expenditure, stating that the judges were nominated by the Chief Justice of Nigeria and that the trip was designed to expose participants to global best practices in tackling financial crimes.

The agency insisted there was nothing improper about the arrangement and urged the public to view it as capacity building rather than influence peddling.

Academics also weighed in, with some questioning whether the expenditure should have come from the judiciary’s budget and others noting that such sponsorships could be deemed unethical without proper approval from judicial authorities.

Observers say the incident raises broader concerns about transparency, accountability, and separation of powers in Nigeria’s anti-corruption framework, urging clearer guidelines to prevent future conflicts of interest between investigative agencies and the judiciary.