The minister promised that the government would work tirelessly to provide safe schools for children across the country.
The Minister of Interior Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo says corruption remains the biggest threat to Nigeria's security challenges.
Mr Tunji-Ojo said this at a meeting with the chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Musa Aliyu, in Abuja on Tuesday.
Accompanied by top officials of the ministry and heads of paramilitary agencies, the minister said they were at the ICPC headquarters to seek collaborative ways of tackling crime.
"In my view, with a strategic partnership between the Ministry of Interior and the ICPC, we can deter crime," Mr Tunji-Ojo said.
He said across the world, governments are steps ahead of criminals, adding that Nigeria could no longer afford to play catch-up in combating crime.
"We need to collaborate and build the capacity of our personnel. That way we would be able to block loopholes within our administrative sphere.
"The marriage between the ICPC and the Ministry of Interior has to do with the security of Nigerians," the minister said, after he emerged from a closed-door session with the ICPC chairman.
He promised that the government would work tirelessly to provide safe schools for children across the country.
Terrorists often referred to as bandits have been relentless in mass abduction of schoolchildren in the northern part of Nigeria.
In March, bandits abducted 287 pupils at a public school in Kuriga in Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State. The criminals demanded N1 billion ransom for the release of the children.
But it remains unclear if the government paid ransom before the children were released a couple of weeks after the incident.
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The minister also highlighted the need to ramp up border security to address terrorism.
He expressed optimism over the partnership between the two institutions.
Corruption discourages investment - ICPC chair
The Chairman of the ICPC, Mr Aliyu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), promised to follow through with the commission's mandate of combating graft.
Mr Aliyu said the twin problems of insecurity and corruption are a hindrance to investment.
"Tackling corruption will make our environment conducive for investments," said.
He said the government was determined to confront the problems and attract investments into the country.
The anti-graft agency boss said the brainstorming session with Mr Tunji-Ojo provided invaluable insights into how the two institutions can collaborate in the areas of crime prevMinister ention and investigation as well as prison decongestion by way of non-custodial sentence of convicts.
Messrs Tunji-Ojo and Aliyu in their separate remarks pledged to deploy technology in addressing the challenges.
