Nigerian President says determined to root out corruption

Fighting corruption in Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation, was never going to be a straightforward task, President Muhammadu Buhari said on Sunday.

In an address marking Nigeria's 57th independence anniversary in Abuja, Nigeria's capital, Buhari said the federal government had empowered teams of prosecutors and assembled detailed databases for effective and efficient prosecution of corrupt officials.

"We expected corrupt elements to use any weapon to fight back, mainly through judicial obstruction and political diversion," he said. "But, we are determined to eradicate corruption from our body politic."

He said the government has accelerated the recovery of stolen funds, adding that Nigeria has signed multilateral cooperation agreements on criminal matters with friendly countries.

Buhari said there were also signs of increasing cooperation from the nation's judiciary.