Government’s 5% reward policy on whistle-blowers: Need for statutory framework for protection

“As secrecy is often a factor which permits many acts of corruption to go undetected or unreported, any programme which will encourage persons in the know of such acts to come forward and reveal them is welcome. However, as commendable as this current programme is, it still raises certain issues, the most prominent of which is the absence of a legal framework to guide the entire process and also the absence of any measure of protection to whistle blowers.”

On December 21, 2016, the Federal Government adopted a policy by which persons otherwise referred to as whistle-blowers would receive five per cent financial reward if information they provide lead to the recovery of looted funds and other monies obtained through fraudulent means. Described as the ‘Whistle Blowing Programme,’ it is said to be aimed at encouraging anyone with information about a violation, misconduct or improper activity that impacts negatively on the Nigerian people and government to report it. The said program is touted to be another of the administration’s tools in the fight against corruption. To facilitate this, the government was said to have set up an online portal that potential whistleblowers could access and provide information under strict confidentiality. To qualify for the reward, the information provided must be such that the government did not already have or such that it could not otherwise obtain from any other source available to the government. The Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, who addressed newsmen after a meeting of the Federal Executive Council was reported to have stated as follows:

“You can submit documentary evidence on the portal. You can also provide specific and fact-based information such as what occurred, amount involved, who was involved and dates of the occurrence on the portal. Confidentiality will be maintained to the fullest extent within the limitations of the law. If you choose not to disclose your identity, there will be no record of who you are. If you choose to disclose your identity, it will be fully protected. If you whistleblow in public-spirit and in good faith, you will be protected. If you feel that you have been treated badly because of your report, you can file a formal complaint. If you have suffered harassment, intimidation or victimisation for sharing your concerns, restitution will be made for any loss suffered.”

Without a doubt, corruption is rife in Nigeria despite the efforts of government to curb it. As secrecy is often a factor which permits many acts of corruption to go undetected or unreported, any programme which will encourage persons in the know of such acts to come forward and reveal them is welcome. However, as commendable as this current programme is, it still raises certain issues, the most prominent of which is the absence of a legal framework to guide the entire process and also the absence of any measure of protection to whistle blowers. This is particularly so as the aspects of the policy revealed thus far deal only with reward and compensation. To appreciate this point, it is necessary to trace the origin of the concept of whistleblowing, its advantages and disadvantages and particularly the constant call for the passage of a law to protect whistleblowers in Nigeria.

Who is a whistle-blower?

Wikipedia defines a whistle-blower as:

“a person who exposes any kind of information or activity that is deemed illegal, unethical, or not correct within an organization that is either private or public. The information of alleged wrongdoing can be classified in many ways: violation of company policy/rules, law, regulation, or threat to public interest/national security, as well as fraud, and corruption.Those who become whistleblowers can choose to bring information or allegations to surface either internally or externally. Internally, a whistleblower can bring his/her accusations to the attention of other people within the accused organization. Externally, a whistleblower can bring allegations to light by contacting a third party outside of an accused organization. Whistleblowers can reach out to the media, government, law enforcement, or those who are concerned but also face stiff reprisal and retaliation from those who are accused or alleged of wrongdoing.”

Why whistle-blowers need protection?

People who fit the above description and who have summoned the courage to report infractions of the law mostly have one problem in common: harassment. This harassment can take several forms including legal action, criminal charges, social stigma, and termination from any position, office, or job. In a report on the issue, the European Environmental Agency stated as follows:

“Employees in academia, business or government might become aware of serious risks to health and the environment, but internal policies might pose threats of retaliation to those who report these early warnings.Private company employees in particular might be at risk of being fired, demoted, denied raises and so on for bringing environmental risks to the attention of appropriate authorities. Government employees could be at a similar risk for bringing threats to health or the environment to public attention, although perhaps this is less likely.”

Indeed in some countries, whistleblowers have paid the ultimate sacrifice for daring to report wrongdoing. In india, an engineer, Satyendra Dubey, was murdered in November 2003. Dubey had blown the whistle in a corruption case in the National Highways Authority of India’s Golden Quadrilateral project.Two years later, an Indian Oil Corporation officer, Shanmughan Manjunath, was murdered for sealing a petrol pump that was selling adulterated fuel. A Karnataka official, SP Mahantesh, said to be a whistle-blower in controversial land allotments by societies, was murdered in May 2012. He was working as Deputy Director of the audit wing in the state’s Cooperative department and had reported irregularities in different societies involving some officials and political figures. A senior police officer who alleged that a certain government was corrupt and had embezzled large amounts of money was sent to a psychiatric hospital shortly after he made the revelations. As I will discuss later, these and other events eventually led to the passage of Whistleblower Protection Laws in India.

Thus with the above background, it is has always been clear that governments world over must set statutory frameworks for the protection of whistleblowers. Examples of such legislations exists in other countries. More importantly, a bill for the protection of whistleblowers was indeed passed by the last National Assembly in 2015 while another bill of 2016 is before the current National Assembly.

To be continued.

AARE AFE BABALOLA, SAN, CON