CONTESTING LEGITIMACY AND PUBLIC IMAGE IN CORRUPTION DISCOURSE: AN ANALYSIS OF IMPOLITENESS STRATEGIES IN THE YAHAYA BELLO–EFCC MEDIA FACE-OFF

Abstract

This study examines the impoliteness strategies deployed in the media confrontation
between Yahaya Bello, former Governor of Kogi State, and the Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission (EFCC) over allegations of financial misconduct. The study examines how
both actors utilize impoliteness as a pragmatic resource for undermining credibility,
defending institutional and personal identities, and negotiating legitimacy within Nigeria’s
corruption discourse. Drawing on Culpeper’s Impoliteness Theory, Brown and Levinson’s Face
Theory, and contemporary studies of media discourse, the study adopts a qualitative
discourse-pragmatic approach to analyse selected media statements, press releases, and
public responses related to the confrontation. Findings reveal the extensive deployment of
bald-on-record impoliteness, negative impoliteness, ridicule, condescension, accusations, and
associational impoliteness by both parties. The EFCC employs institutional accusations, public
naming, and criminal labelling to undermine Bello’s public image and reinforce institutional
authority. Conversely, Bello and his media representatives deploy counter-accusations,
delegitimising descriptions, and victimhood narratives to challenge the anti-corruption
agency's credibility and neutrality. The study concludes that impoliteness functions as a
strategic communicative tool through which political actors and institutions negotiate power,
legitimacy, accountability, and public perception in Nigeria’s corruption discourse.