The African Centre for Media and Information Literacy (AFRICMIL) has once again called on the Federal Government to work with the National Assembly in order to fast track the enactment of a Whistleblower Protection Law.
Coordinator of AFRICMIL, Dr. Chido Onumah, made the call during his opening remarks at a one-day workshop for lawyers on the theme ‘The Role of Lawyers in Promoting Whistleblowing and Whistleblower Protection in Nigeria’, held in Enugu on Tuesday, April 30, 2024.
The workshop, organized by AFRICMIL in collaboration with the Progressive Impact Organization for Community Development (PRIMORG) and Godwin Chigbu & Associates, was designed to enhance lawyers’ knowledge and understanding of the Nigerian whistleblowing policy, which the Federal Government introduced in December 2016 to check corruption and wrongdoing in the country.
Dr. Onumah said the workshop would broadenparticipants’ knowledge of the general principles and best practices of the whistleblowing ecosystem, while also informing them of the broad contents of the draft whistleblower protection bill approved by the Federal Executive Council, which has yet to be passed into law.
Three resource persons made presentations, while there was also a question and answer session. In her papertitled ‘Whistleblowing as a Tool for Fighting Corruption and the Role of Citizens,’ Uche Nwokeocha, a lawyer at the National Human Rights Commission, emphasized that the ultimate aim of whistleblowing is to protect the public interest.
Meanwhile, Johnson Oludare, a Deputy Director at the Federal Ministry of Finance, Abuja, explained how the country’s whistleblowing policy works in a presentation titled Understanding Nigeria’s Whistleblowing Policy. He said whistleblowing serves as an essential aspect of checks and balances in society. He identified the absence of a legislation as a major challenge facing effective implementation of the policy
In the same vein, Olu Omotayo, also a lawyer and Executive Director, Civil Rights Realization and Advancement Network who spoke on ‘The Role of Lawyers in Promoting Whistleblowing and Whistleblower Protection’, said that even lawyers require legal backing to feel safe handling issues of whistleblowing and dealing with whistleblowers. He pointed out that in other countries, such as the United States of America, there were strong whistleblower protection laws to shield whistleblowers from the negative fallouts of whistleblowing, which may include litigation and retaliatory actions.
Among other suggestions and contributions, participants urged civil society to embark on further advocacy to ensure the Whistleblower Protection Bill, which has been approved by the Federal Executive Council, is sent to the National Assembly to be passed into law.
In response, AFRICMIL’s Programme Manager, Godwin Onyeacholem, disclosed that the Centre and its partners were actively engaged in such advocacy. He said the workshop itself was an example of the actions being taken to step up advocacy for the passage of the whistleblower protection law.
AFRICMIL is a non-governmental organization dedicated to media, information, research, advocacy, and training. The one-day workshop for lawyers in Enugu was held with the support of MacArthur Foundation.
