This study sets out to examine the use of cartoons by Nigerian newspapers to criticize perceived corrupt political leaders. The rationale behind the study is to find out the prospects and challenges of using cartoons to attack perceived bad or corrupt politicians in Nigeria. In general, cartooning or the use of caricature employs humor and satire in criticizing people, thus appearing harmless. The most crucial aspect of using cartoon to criticize corrupt political leaders is the independence of cartoonists irrespective of the ownership structure of the print media they work with. This enables them to be more objective in their work. However, there are certain problems associated with the use of cartoon as a device for political criticism in Nigeria, some of which are: communication related problems, message related problems, illiteracy, political system, circulation, lack of qualified personnel and readership pattern. The paper concludes that newspaper cartoons go a long way in criticizing poor leadership in Nigerian governance, but there are certain factors that hinder its effectiveness. As such, it therefore recommends, among others, that cartoonists should endeavour to cover all aspects of governance, leaving no stone unturned.