Developing a Theory of Accountability Without Consequences in Nigerian Public Law: Institutional Design, Enforcement Gaps, and Systemic Reform

Nigeria possesses an extensive constitutional and statutory accountability architecture encompassing the EFCC, ICPC, Code of Conduct Bureau, Public Accounts Committees, the Auditor-General, and the Ombudsman, yet the persistent pattern of public officials escaping legal consequences for documented abuses of power suggests a systemic accountability failure that standard institutional analysis has not adequately theorised. The concept of accountability without consequences, defined as the existence of formal accountability mechanisms whose practical outputs do not alter the behaviour of those they purport to hold accountable, requires original theoretical development as a diagnostic tool for public law reform. This study develops an original Accountability Without Consequences Theory applicable to Nigerian public law, examining the structural mechanisms through which formal accountability institutions are systematically neutralised. The methodology applies Mechanism-Based Explanations drawing on 50 accountability case studies from the EFCC, Code of Conduct Tribunal, and Public Accounts Committee from 2003 to 2023, combined with process tracing of accountability breakdowns and qualitative interviews with 35 accountability practitioners. Principal-Agent Theory, Institutional Isomorphism Theory, and Systemic Corruption Theory collectively inform the original framework. The study's original contribution is an Accountability Without Consequences Framework providing a diagnostic toolkit for identifying the mechanisms of accountability neutralisation in post-colonial federal states. Findings generate theoretically grounded institutional reform recommendations targeting the structural roots of accountability failure in Nigeria. Keywords: accountability theory, institutional design, enforcement gaps, public law reform, Nigeria.