Nigerians losing interest in whistleblowing despite rewards – EFCC

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has lamented the loss of interest in the whistleblowing policy of the federal government despite the huge financial reward attached to it.

 The executive chairman of the commission, Abdullahi Bawa, revealed this on Friday during a one-day town hall meeting on strengthening the capacity of stakeholders on the whistleblowing policy held in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital.

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The programme with the theme, “The role of community-based organisations in entrenching whistleblowing at the grassroots,” was in partnership with the African Centre for Media and Information Literacy (AFRICMIL) and supported by the MacArthur Foundation.

 He said, “Two of the landmark recoveries from whistleblowers’ information were the $9.8m recovered from a former managing director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Mr Andrew Yakubu, and the $11 million recovered at an apartment in Osborne Towers, Ikoyi, Lagos.

 “This seeming loss of interest is difficult to explain given that those who initially embraced the policy were rewarded,” Bawa said.

Bawa who was represented by the EFCC Director of Public Affairs, Osita Nwajah, said there was the need for “fresh awakening to sustain the flow of critical intelligence to the law enforcement agencies.”

 In his welcome address, AFRICMIL coordinator, Chido Onumah, said the theme was deliberately chosen as a conscious effort to invite partners in the campaign to ensure a drastic reduction in corruption and wrongdoing at the grassroots through whistleblowing.