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Calling for a Legal Framework for Whistle Blowing in Nigeria

OPINION

Calling for a Legal Framework for Whistle Blowing in Nigeria 

By: Douglas Ogbankwa Esq 

The concept of whistle blowing is a novel concept in the Nigerian System. It gained some traction with the advocacy of Professor Yemi Osinbanjo  SAN, former Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Whistle blowing is an attempt to stop something bad that someone is doing, especially by bringing it to the attention of other people, and the public.


There is no known law that regulates the concept of whistle blowing in Nigeria. It is therefore left to the whims and caprices of the operators of the Nigerian Government.

As in anything that is left to the  whimsical wishes of Nigerian Government officials, whistle blowers have mostly found themselves in jail, for exposing a fraud, crime, and evil activities of some unscrupulous people, than for them to be given credit or compensation for their activities.


It is so easy for you to steal public funds in Nigeria, but very difficult to be caught. The Nigerian System is like asking an assassin to go and kill and still get him through another institution to investigate himself. They try to make it simple. It is like a missing person joining a search party to find himself. That is  going to be a wild goose chase.

There is an aphorism in Nigeria that when you fight corruption, corruption will fight back. In Nigeria, the Government officials according to former President Good luck Jonathan, "pretend as if they were sleeping".

In 2019 , there was an attempt by the National Assembly to promulgate a law regulating whistle blowing in Nigeria. The Law died the same way it came, because "You cannot sell snow to Eskimos ".

It is important that we promulgate a Law giving protection to whistle blowers in Nigeria. There should be a provision for whistle blowers to be anonymous.

In Nigeria, if you do not put your name or signature in a Petition it is  dead on arrival. If you put your name and your  signature you may end up dead or in jail. So, head or tail, it is a dead end.

This calls for a Legal Framework to institutionalise reforms to give whistle blowers some lease of life.

The Law should provide for  a whistle blowing App., which can be used to report financial impropriety or any kind of infractions from any where in the World .

The Law on false information and false allegations should be amended in a way that an Institution should not investigate an allegation  against it. This is following the Principles of Nemo Judex In Causa Sua-"No one shall be a judge in its own cause".  It is foolhardy for one to expect any head way in an Institution investigating itself against corruption. There should be checks and balances.

All the Servicom Units in all Federal Government Institutions should be converted to units in charge of whistle blowing matters. There should also be training of experts to superintendent over whistle blowing issues.


There should be  transparency and openness in tackling whistle blowing issues, so that the issues can be available to be tracked and called out 24/7 at all times. This will protect the whistle blowers against victimisation.


There should also be a corruption index of all public institutions with key indicators being how there are whistle blowing measures/techniques or lack of it. The procedure, process and system of management of whistle blowing should be clearly spelt out in the proposed whistle blowing legislation. There should also be an Independent Agency to be called "The Independent Whistle Blowing Commission", to be filling in charge of whistle blowing in Nigeria.


I reckon that in most Nigerian Institutions, that the only thing that is "Independent" in any Institution that bears that name is the word "Independent". There should however be an appreciable level of "Independence" in the activities of the proposed Commission.

It is so easy for you to steal public funds in Nigeria, but very difficult to be caught. The Nigerian System is like asking an assassin to go and kill and still get him through another institution to investigate himself. They try to make it simple. It is like a missing person joining a search party to find himself. That is  going to be a wild goose chase.

It was Dr Franz Frannon that said "When consciousness power meets powerless consciousness, the result is double tragedy".


About the Author:

Douglas Ogbankwa Esq., is the Founder of the Security Situation Room. He can be reached 👇👇👇

douglasogbankwa@gmail.com

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