FRAUD INVESTIGATION AND FRAUD PREVENTION IN NIGERIA’S PUBLIC SECTOR

This study investigated how fraud investigation can be successfully used to prevent fraudulent practices in Nigeria’s public sector. A descriptive survey design was used for this study. The state with the highest total revenue was selected from each of the country's six geopolitical zones. Structured questionnaires returned by 341 respondents (85.5% response rate) who were mainly accountants, auditors and lawyers in the public sector were analyzed with ordinal regression analysis. Fraud investigation was proxy by Legal Framework; Whistleblower Protection; Trained and Skilled Investigators; Cooperation of Agencies; Transparent and Accountable Leaders and Public Awareness and Education. Findings showed that Legal Framework and Whistleblower Protection have negative and insignificant coefficients. The rest have positive and also negligible coefficients. All the six variables used collectively accounted for just 12% of fraud prevention in the public sector of Nigeria. The study concluded that investigation alone cannot curb fraud in the public sector of Nigeria. The study therefore recommends that fraud investigation should be combined with other methods to combat and eradicate fraud in the public sector of Nigeria. Keywords: Fraudulent practices; Fraud prevention; Legal framework; Public sector; Whistleblower protection