Stakeholders on Thursday emphasized the need for every Nigerian to expose corruption, as it is a civic duty of all towards a better society.
The position was unanimously taken at a zonal town hall meeting with the theme, “Whistleblowing and the fight against Corruption,” organised by the African Centre for Media and Information Literacy (AFRICMIL), in collaboration with the CLEEN Foundation in Owerri, Imo State.
The stakeholders made up of civil society organisations (CSOs), non-governmental organisations (NGOs), representatives of anti-graft agencies, the National Orientation Agency (NOA) and other participants noted that the effects of corrupt practices by a few greedy individuals will continue to affect the wellbeing of the majority.
The Coordinator, AFRICMIL, Chido Onumah, said the town-hall meeting, which was part of activities aimed at sensitizing Nigerians on the whistleblowing policy of the federal government, was meant to bring together policy formulators and the citizens to discuss the way forward in the administration of the whistleblowing policy.
He said the meeting was important as the success of the policy depended largely on the role played by citizens.
“As Nigerians, we have to be aware that the fight against corruption is not one to be left for the federal government alone. We all have roles to play, and this is what the whistle blowing policy seeks to ensure. While we call on all Nigerians to play their patriotic role in blowing the whistle on corruption, we hope those responsible for the policy will benefit from the discussion here today to strengthen the policy framework, the integrity of the process and the safety of the whistle-blowers,” he added.
Ifeanyi Anyanwu, Senior Programme Officer of CLEEN Foundation, Owerri, noted that it was unpatriotic for Nigerians to wait to be paid before exposing corrupt practices, and continuous silence due to absence of reward could spell doom for the future of the policy and the country.
Speaking on submission of tips, the Deputy Head of Operations, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Enugu Zonal Office, Mr. Johnson Oshodi, said while it was everyone’s duty to report corrupt officials, the need to ensure information supplied was accurate could not be over-emphasized.
He reiterated that tips submitted, investigated and found to be false normally attracted penalties and urged Nigerians to be careful while giving tips.
In exposing corrupt practices, the Deputy Director, National Orientation Agency (NOA), Imo State, Innocent Iwuchukwu, advised Nigerians to ensure details such as place, time date and persons involved are accurate.
Iwuchukwu urged Nigerians to see individual participation in the fight against corruption in good faith.
According to him, “Whistle blowing is not a career to be pursued but a service to be undertaken by anyone deeply concerned about the good of Nigeria. Such a person is entitled to the strictest confidentiality as permitted by the law.”
He encouraged Nigerians to submit tips through the website of the Presidential Initiative on Continuous Audit (PICA): www.whistlefinance.gov.ng or email to whistle@finance.gov.ng text or put a call through to the number 09098067946.
With regard to protection for whistle-blowers, a Commissioner at the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Gaji Barnabas, said section 64 of the ICPC Act provides that a whistleblower’s identity be kept secret except to the trial judge and defence lawyer in such criminal cases.
He said the provision was enacted due to the fact that whistleblowers were always subjected to intimidation, victimization and in some cases dismissal from work.
This is the second in AFRICMIL’s zonal town hall meeting to popularize the whistleblowing policy and to engage stakeholders on how they can take advantage of the policy to improve the fight against corruption. The first was held in Kano on February 20, 2018.
