The African Centre for Media and Information Literacy (AFRICMIL) and Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) have agreed to work together to ensure protection for whistleblowers facing retaliation.
Dr. Chido Onumah, Coordinator of AFRICMIL, said protecting persons suffering all kinds of punishment for showing the courage to report wrongdoing in their workplace has been a major challenge for the organisation since it began implementing the Corruption Anonymous (CORA) project five years ago.
“We are working with traumatized and helpless patriotic citizens who have been suspended, dismissed, denied promotion, salaries and allowances. Some of them face all kinds of threats and intimidation for demanding transparency and accountability in their offices,” Onumah said. He recalled that although some of these victimized whistleblowers are in court in search of justice, they are finding it difficult to raise legal fees to sustain the legal challenge, while there are others who have no hope of attempting a court action.
Considering the above, Onumah said the collaboration with SERAP, one of Nigeria’s foremost accountability NGOs with vast experience in strategic litigation, is critical in the drive for whistleblower protection. “We are excited with this partnership which signals relief and hope for troubled whistleblowers.”
On his part, SERAP’s deputy director, Kolawole Oluwadare, said his organization was delighted to partner with AFRICMIL “to achieve the objectives of whistleblower protection in Nigeria.”
