Indonesia has shared its experience in combating corruption with Nigeria, highlighting intelligence-led investigations and legally backed sting operations as among the most effective tools for exposing and prosecuting high-profile offenders.
The Indonesian Ambassador to Nigeria, Bambang Suharto, made this known on Monday in Abuja at the second edition of the International Diplomatic Dialogue organised by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
The dialogue, organised by the Anti-Corruption Academy of Nigeria (ACAN), the research and training arm of the ICPC, was themed: “Experience Sharing in Anti-Corruption Strategy: The Indonesian Perspective.”
Suharto, who was represented by the Minister Counsellor for Political Affairs, Mrs Tuty Dityawanty, said Indonesia’s Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) had recorded significant successes through sting operations, institutional reforms and deliberate efforts to build public trust.
He said the KPK had successfully arrested and prosecuted hundreds of previously “untouchable elites”, including ministers, governors, lawmakers and judges.
“Komisi Pemberantasan Korupsi, or KPK, achieved success in prosecuting high-profile officials. It arrested and convicted hundreds of untouchable elites, including ministers, governors, lawmakers and judges,” he said.
The ambassador, however, acknowledged that corruption remained a major challenge in Indonesia, particularly in areas involving bribery in public services and business licensing.
He explained that the KPK, established in 2003, was given a broad mandate covering coordination and supervision, investigation and prosecution, corruption prevention, and monitoring of state governance.
According to him, the commission relies heavily on intelligence-led investigations and sting operations to uncover suspected bribery cases, with such operations conducted within the framework of Indonesian law and supported by investigative evidence.
“One of KPK’s most effective tools has been the sting operation, legally backed by law,” he said.
He explained that the law permits the commission to apprehend suspects caught in the act during ongoing intelligence and wiretapping operations, subject to prior approval from the KPK’s internal Supervisory Board.
He stressed that such operations were not conducted randomly, adding that they required prior case-building, validation of investigative intelligence and sufficient preliminary evidence.
“Operations require prior case-building, investigative data validation, and sufficient preliminary evidence rather than random investigation or pure entrapment,” he said.
Suharto further disclosed that corruption offences in Indonesia could attract life imprisonment or prison terms ranging from four to 20 years.
He also highlighted Indonesia’s State Administrator Asset Report system, known as LHKPN, which is managed by the KPK.
According to him, the system requires civil servants, executives of state-owned enterprises and senior public officials to declare their assets before assuming office, annually while in office and after leaving office.
The disclosure, he said, also covers assets belonging to members of the officials’ immediate families.
The ambassador traced the roots of corruption in Indonesia to the royal era and the Dutch colonial period under the Dutch East India Company (VOC), which he described as having sown the “seeds of modern corruption” through resource exploitation, arbitrary taxation and personal enrichment by officials.
He said the KPK had gained public confidence not merely because it prosecuted powerful individuals, but also because it projected a vision of an Indonesia where public affairs could be conducted without corruption.
“As we look back at this journey, we see that success was not an accident but the result of persistence and smart choices,” he said.
In his opening remarks, the ICPC Chairman, Dr Musa Aliyu, SAN, said international cooperation and the exchange of best practices remained critical to strengthening Nigeria’s anti-corruption campaign.
Aliyu, who was represented by the ICPC Secretary, Clifford Oparaodu, described the dialogue as “both relevant and timely”, given the damaging impact of corruption on sustainable development, economic growth, social justice and public confidence in government institutions.
He said corruption was a global phenomenon affecting countries to varying degrees, with devastating consequences for the political, socio-economic and developmental progress of nations where it was allowed to thrive unchecked.
According to him, Nigeria had much to learn from Indonesia, particularly from the experience of its anti-corruption agency, the KPK.
“The commission will be glad to share from the strategies, policies, including institutional and legal reforms, as well as the enforcement actions adopted by the Indonesian government to fight corruption in the country, and that is why we are here today to learn from their experience,” he said.
Aliyu disclosed that the ICPC had previously hosted the Kenyan High Commissioner to Nigeria, Ambassador Isaac Parashina, during which both countries exchanged knowledge and experiences on combating corruption.
He said Nigeria could benefit from comparative international experiences by identifying innovative strategies that could be adapted to its own institutional and legal environment.
“As Nigeria deepens its anti-corruption efforts, there is much value in understanding comparative experiences and identifying innovative approaches that can be adapted to local realities,” he said.
The ICPC chairman commended the Provost of ACAN, Prof. Sheriff Ibrahim, and his team for conceptualising the diplomatic dialogue, describing the Academy as an important institution for research, training, advocacy and capacity development in support of Nigeria’s anti-corruption agenda.
The Provost of ACAN, Prof. Sheriff Ibrahim, said Indonesia’s historical experience offered valuable lessons for countries in the Global South seeking to strengthen their institutions and fight corruption.
Ibrahim linked Indonesia’s anti-corruption experience to the 1955 Bandung Conference, which brought together 29 Asian and African countries and promoted principles including sovereignty, equality and international cooperation.
He said Indonesia’s experience provided useful lessons for South-South cooperation, noting that its anti-corruption strategy combined preventive education, asset disclosure and criminal prosecution.
According to him, the approach had been particularly relevant in areas such as business licensing, public financial management and bureaucratic reform.
Ibrahim urged countries in the Global South to revive the “spirit of Bandung” by strengthening solidarity, exchanging knowledge and developing home-grown strategies to combat corruption.
He described Indonesia as a significant model for Global South nations, arguing that its experience demonstrated the value of combining prevention, institutional reform, transparency and effective prosecution in the fight against corruption.
