As the world marks World Whistleblower Day today, the African Centre for Media and Information Literacy (AFRICMIL) has renewed its call for the urgent passage of a comprehensive whistleblower protection law in Nigeria to safeguard courageous citizens who expose corruption and wrongdoing in the public interest.
In a press statement, AFRICMIL lamented the persistent institutional and legal failures that continue to endanger whistleblowers and discourage public interest disclosures in Nigeria.
“Whistleblowing is not just an anti-corruption strategy. It is a moral stance — an expression of faith in the public good,” said Dr Chido Onumah, Coordinator of AFRICMIL. “But courage alone is not enough. It must be met with legal protection, institutional support, and cultural acceptance.”
AFRICMIL, through its flagship Corruption Anonymous (CORA) project, has been at the forefront of efforts to institutionalise whistleblowing in Nigeria since 2017. However, the organisation noted that nearly a decade after the Federal Government launched its whistleblower policy, the absence of a binding legal framework remains a glaring failure.
According to Dr Onumah, “Without legal backing, the current policy offers no guarantees. It leaves whistleblowers vulnerable to retaliation, from harassment and job loss to psychological trauma. This is not how trust is built. This is how it is destroyed.”
AFRICMIL cited recent findings from a survey it conducted in partnership with the Centre for Fiscal Transparency and Public Integrity (CFTPI), which revealed that only 3.1% of 515 federal government institutions surveyed have procedures for internal whistleblowing. Shockingly, even agencies central to Nigeria’s anti-corruption agenda, including the ICPC, EFCC, and the Federal Ministry of Finance, do not have internal whistleblowing policies.
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The organisation described this contradiction as “a system in denial” and called on the government to lead by example by institutionalising whistleblowing frameworks across all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).
In marking this year’s World Whistleblower Day, AFRICMIL urged the Nigerian government, lawmakers, civil society, and private sector actors to take the following steps:
1. Enact a comprehensive whistleblower protection law that includes anti-retaliation provisions, confidentiality guarantees, and access to redress.
2. Mandate all public institutions to adopt internal whistleblowing systems, train staff, and uphold transparency.
3. Punish retaliation against whistleblowers, especially by managers or agency heads.
4. Invest in public education to destigmatise whistleblowing and shift public perception.
5. Encourage private sector participation in promoting ethical reporting environments.
AFRICMIL reaffirmed its commitment to building a culture where speaking truth to power is not punished but lprotected, and where integrity is not isolated but institutionalised.
“Let this be the year we act, with honesty, urgency, and purpose. The time to close the trust gap is now,” the statement noted.
