In October 2016, the Federal Government launched the whistleblower protection Bill through the ministry of finance which was approved by the federal executive council and was proposed to the national assembly to be passed into law.
At a one-day round table discussion in Abuja, with the theme, “Institutionalizing Whistleblowing as an Anti-Corruption Response: Legislation as the best Incentive” antigraft agencies, civil society organizations, and stakeholders in the antigraft space called on the National Assembly to pass the whistleblowing policy Bill into Law so as to protect those are willing to blow the whistle.Â
The Executive Director, the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre, (CISLAC) Auwal Rafsanjani, said for corruption to end in Nigeria, there is a need for Whistleblowers to be protected and shielded from victimization or getting killed.
He called on the National assembly as a matter of urgency to pass the whistle-blower bill before it into law.
While regretting, that the bill has long overstayed since 2016, called for quick determination of corruption cases lingering in courts to serve as a deterrent to other public office holders who may be thinking of embezzling public funds.Â
In his remarks, the Deputy Director, the Corruption Monitoring and Evaluation System Study, and Review Department of ICPC, Olayinka Aiyegbayo said most of the successful corruption cases undertaken by the commission were due to whistleblowing tips and information received from both Nigerians and foreigners.
Aiyegbayo said in 2019, ICPC recovered #12, 726, 667,770.17 from proceeds of crime, and the money has since been paid into the federal government’s recovery account in the central bank of Nigeria.
He added that ICPC has a protection provision in its whistleblowing policy, that tackled vigorously issues of official victimization, intimidation and harassment of whistleblowers in Ministries, department, and agencies.
The Assistant Director of Press, National Orientation Agency, Paul Odenyi said section 22, 23, 126, 127, and 128 of the 2022 Electoral Act prohibits vote buying and selling, adding that they are working with antigraft agencies and security agencies to curb vote buying and selling during elections.
He stresses the need for sensitization and advocacy on the Whistleblowing policy down to the grassroots to help popularized the policy and make the people understand and adopt the policy as a tool for combating corruption.
In his remarks, the Senior Programme Officer, African Centre for Media and Information Literacy, (AFRICMIL) Godwin Onyeacholem said the center with the support of the MacArthur Foundation has launched an anti-corruption application software known as corruption anonymous, CORA, a project designed to build public confidence and support for the Whistleblowing policy.
The roundtable discussion which was organized by the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre and African Centre for Media and Information Literacy, (AFRICMIL) was attended by the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC), Civil Society Organizations, Representative from the Women’s Rights Advancement and Protection Alternative (WRAPA), National Orientation Agency (NOA), Primorg, and other grantees of MacArthur Foundation.
