The scourge of corruption which has almost eaten up the entire Nigeria’s economy is not in any way a new phenomenon in the country. Series of attempt have been made by Nigeria’s past a d m i n i s t r a t i o n s t o s t o p t h e c a n k e r w o r m f r o m i t s manifestation which yielded little or no success. However, the giant stride made by present administration through the introduction of whistle-blowing as a mechanism to fight corruption and other misconduct in Nigeria has been a welcome development in the country. This has given Nigerians the opportunity to expose wrongdoing and all sorts of unethical activities in the society as part of contributing their quotas to the development of the country. The study emphasized on the significant contribution and the role played by whistle-blowers towards the recovery of looted funds in N i g e r i a . S i m i l a r l y, t h e s t u d y h a s d i s c o v e re d t h a t t h e government can do more by making adequate legal protection for the whistle-blowers in order to encourage them towards their participation in the fight against corruption and nefarious activities in the country. If otherwise, the Nigerian government may not achieve its objective. The study equally sensitises Nigerian policy makers and the citizens on the likely dangers if the whistle-blower’s protection law is not passed and ratified by the highest law-making body of Nigeria (The National Assembly). The paper therefore, employs exploratory research method through the use of secondary data to examine the influence of whistle-blowing on corruption and other misconduct in Nigeria. Keywords: corruption, whistle-blowing, policy protection, economic and financial crime commission (EFCC), Nigeria
See Full PDF See Full PDFINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ADVANCE RESEARCH IN MULTIDISCIPLINARY
This study examined 'Whistleblowing as a tool for reducing corrupt practices in Nigeria'. The politicians and other public servants charged with corrupt practices and related offences constitute the study population from which the actual number of convicts were taken as sample which necessitated the choice of judgmental sampling technique. The studied period was 2016 to 2020. Secondary data covering 2016 to 2020 were sourced from the EFCC annual reports and other relevant official websites which necessitated the application of ex post facto research design. A combination of Multiple Least Square Regression and Software Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23, as well as STATA Version 13 were utilized for statistical analysis and results. The research findings demonstrate that utilizing a whistleblowing mechanism (WBWC) has a beneficial impact on lowering corruption levels in Nigeria. However, when whistleblowers' protection (WBWP) are not adequately safeguarded, the system seems to have a contrary effect. Amount compensated to whistle blowers (WBWC) also reveals significant positive effect on reducing corrupt practices in Nigeria. The results of this study suggest that legislation should be passed to make whistleblowing policy officially recognized and active in Nigeria. Whistle blowers' protection Act should be legislated and taken with utmost seriousness by both the legislature, judiciary and executive. Whistle blowers' compensation should be one of the major priorities which must not be treated with levity if public confidence must be built and boosted by the authorized compensators.
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International Journal of Politics and Good Governance
In Nigeria, as in many countries of the world, mechanism for fighting corrupt practices has been a subject of constant debate and discussion among stakeholders. Corrupt practices have continued to attract the attention of everybody and have experienced series of initiatives to curb its menace on national development. This paper examined whistleblowing policy, being one recent policy of the government to fight corruption, especially among the political class and public office holders, by the Federal Government of Nigeria. It attempt to conceptualize whistleblowing and its component. With regards to the methodology, it explores documentary evidence of recovered fund through whistleblowing since it was launched in Nigeria in 2016. The use of internet, journal, thesis, archival material and the vast expanse of the literature assisted in the source of information. The paper found evidence of pervasive tendencies for improved recovery of looted fund, exposure of corrupt practices and assistance to Anti-graft agencies in fighting corruption in Nigeria. The paper concluded, among others, that whistleblowing policy has assisted anti-graft agencies in fighting corruption in Nigeria.
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JOURNAL OF LAW AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE
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African Journal of Criminology and Justice Studies
Corruption is a hidden activity that is difficult to discover unless reported. Its secretive nature makes it impossible to defeat given all the measures that have been adopted across the globe. However, one of the important tools increasingly used around the world today to prevent and uncover corruption in both public and private sectors is whistleblowing. This paper, therefore, focuses on the role of whistleblowing policy in fighting corruption in Nigeria. Within the short period, the policy was introduced, it has yielded considerable positive outcome resulting in the discovery and recovery of looted public resources, as well as prosecution of culprits. However, this policy has not yet been backed by any legislation. This paper, therefore, concludes that for the policy to thrive, the legislature should pass the proposed Whistleblower Protection Bill into law. This will protect whistleblowers from any reprisals and encourage them to disclose more information.
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The paper examined the problems and prospects of 'whistle-blowing' as anti-corruption strategy in Nigeria using qualitative research method. The whistle-blowing policy was recently adopted by Buhari-led administration but yet to be passed into law. However, this paper highlights the likely challenges which may confront effective implementation of the policy to include character of the Nigerian state, influence of powerful elites, lack of effective legislation on whistleblower's protection, corrupt and compromised judiciary, socioeconomic challenges, and politicisation of Nigeria's fight against corruption, among others. It argues that if eventually passed into law, the policy could bring about improved economic growth and development, socio-political and infrastructural development, good governance, accountability and transparency in governance. The paper contends that whistleblowing policy is no doubt a laudable mechanism adopted by world countries to fight corruption head-on, but may end up a failure in Nigeria if adequate measures are not put in place to eradicate poverty, provide employment opportunities, adequate security and social amenities, as well as revamping the economy. The paper suggests that there is need for government to proffer urgent solution to socioeconomic challenges currently battling the country, ensure effective legislation for whistleblower's protection and embark on vigorous enlightenment campaign in the media against corrupt practices.
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The Nigerian state is grappling with several forms of corruption which turned ubiquitous and perhaps a national malady yet to be contained. Corruption is believed to be the biggest metaphor for Nigeria's underdevelopment because it impedes good governance and development in almost every sector of human endeavors. Nevertheless, successive military and civilian regimes including the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari and his party the All Progressive Congress (APC) who took over power in 2015, introduced some specific policy measures such as the Presidential Advisory Committee on Corruption (PACC), Whistle Blowing Policy (WBP) among others in order to strengthen and reinvigorate the fight against corruption in line with the promises he made to Nigerians during his presidential inauguration. With the emergence of whistle blowing policy as an additional tool for fighting corruption in Nigeria, the paper seeks to explore from public policy perspectives the merits and demerits of whistle blowing policy under the administration of President Buhari. The paper therefore argued that, from public policy perspectives whistle blowing policy is portrayed as a unitary approach within a federal system because it has failed to sufficiently carry alone the sub-nation government (states and local governments) in the processes of policy formulation and implementation. Hence, despite successes achieved in the recovery of looted funds, the policy was greeted with absence of enabling laws that provided for the security and safety of whistle blowers. In undertaking this research, the paper utilizes secondary data through meticulous content analysis of the existing literature and reported episodes of corruption by whistle-blowers.
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Journal of Law, Policy and Globalization
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International Journal of Social Science Studies Vol. 7, No. 2; March 2019 ISSN 2324-8033 E-ISSN 2324-8041 Published by Redfame Publishing URL: http://ijsss.redfame.com
Corruption in Nigeria, as in several other countries across the globe, is a serious scourge that continues to expose the country to developmental setbacks in the political, economic and social facets. Apart from the unquantifiable financial resources lost annually to corruption in the private and public sectors, almost all of Nigeria‟s security, social, ethnic, political and religious conflicts can be traced to corruption directly or indirectly. Whistleblowing, as an anti-corruption mechanism, has proven to be effective in many parts of the world. This paper, from a background of rentierism, attempts to examine the epistemology of Nigeria‟s whistleblowing policy as well as the effectiveness, limitations, and justifications for the enhancement of the policy. The descriptive design was employed as the methodology of the study. Data were obtained mainly from secondary sources. The Theory of Two Publics was employed as theoretical framework for the study. The paper identifies insufficient legal knowledge, fear of reprisals, lack of meaningful litigation, prebendalism/loyalty provisions, and cultural and historical barriers as some of the challenges of whistleblowing in Nigeria. The paper submits that the policy, though a viable one, but yet to get the backing of an enabling law as at the time of this study, should be delicately formulated, assertively promoted to the public, and speedily sent to the National Assembly for consideration and passage.
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Corruption in Nigeria, just like in many other countries in the world, is an existential problem. Apart from the billions of dollars lost annually to corruption in the public and private sectors, almost all the social, political, ethno-cultural and religious conflicts in Nigeria can be traced to corruption in one way or another. As a tool for fighting corruption, whistle blowing has proven to be effective in many parts of the world. Within the first six months, the Whistle Blowing Policy in Nigeria, officially launched by the Federal Ministry of Finance on December 22, 2016, attracted thousands of tips, some of which led to opening of over 3,000 investigations and the recovery of several billions of naira. However, while the Minister of Information of the Buhari administration, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, applauded the gains from the policy in different forums as evident of the progress being made in the 'war against corruption', controversy has continued to trail the conceptual, ethical and implementation frameworks of the policy so far. This paper is an attempt to examine the theoretical foundations of the policy as well as the current application of its provisions against the ultimate objective of fighting corruption in Nigeria. The Ethical Theory of Whistle Blowing, Universal Dignity Theory of Whistle Blowing and Framing Theory were used to structure the postulations of the study. The paper argues that the policy, which is still awaiting the backing of an enabling law at the time of this study, may need to be further tweaked to speak to the issues of ethics, protection of whistle blowers and impactful communication strategies, in order to serve as a potent energizer to the 'war against corruption' in Nigeria.
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