Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) have expressed serious concerns over what they described as “entrenched corruption, weak governance, and worsening insecurity” that are evidently pushing the country further away from achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16 on peace, justice and strong institutions.
The organisation specifically noted that secrecy in asset declarations as a result of political impunity, and the commercialisation of kidnapping for ransom remain some of the gravest threats to stability and development in Nigeria.
It declared that Nigeria’s path to national renewal lies in protecting civic space, strengthening institutions, and restoring respect for the rule of law.
CISLAC Executive Director, Mr. Auwal Ibrahim Musa Rafsanjani, who stated these at the launch of the 8th Nigeria SDG 16 Shadow Report at a UNGA side event in New York, noted that rather than leading by example, many political office holders in Nigeria divert taxpayers’ money to acquire luxury properties both within Nigeria and abroad, thereby fueling illicit financial flows.
The report referenced the alleged luxury real estate acquisitions by FCT Minister Nyesom Wike in Florida and a UK Tribunal ruling implicating Chief Mike Ozekhome, SAN, and his son, Osilama, in a failed attempt to transfer property linked to former General Jeremiah Useni.
In the words of Musa Rafsanjani; “Such lapses entrench corruption and create a dangerous precedent in which laws are applied selectively, shielding the powerful while ordinary citizens suffer”.
Rafsanjani said that the report, covering July 2024 to August 2025, documents alarming figures on insecurity, stressing that between May 2023 and April 2024 alone, over 2.23 million kidnapping incidents were recorded, with ransom payments totaling ₦2.2 trillion (about US$1.4 billion).
He emphasised that the amount outstrips Nigeria’s 2024 budget for defence, stressing that it indicated that “insecurity has become privatised at the expense of national stability.
Rafasanjani said that other findings of the report include; the persistent refusal of political leaders to declare assets in clear violation of the Constitution, lack of transparent tracking of recovered assets, and the shrinking of the civic space as a result of protest repression and surveillance.
He also said that Nigeria scored only 31/100 in the Open Budget Survey while the government’s Open Treasury Portal is presently inactive, just as the compliance with Freedom of Information Act recorded 11.4% despite a Supreme Court judgement.
CISLAC highlighted some cases to illustrate its findings, amongst which was the arrest of a whistleblower, Mubarak Bello in Katsina who exposed police payroll fraud, stressing that it marked a “chilling example of how citizens who challenge corruption are punished instead of protected”.
Rafsanjani said that Nigeria risks missing the 2030 SDG deadline not for lack of laws or institutions, but for want of political will, adding that the 8th SDG 16 Shadow Report is both a mirror and a roadmap.
He further said; “It shows us where we stand, but also points us to what must change. The government and international partners must recommit to transparency, accountability, and justice”.
