Recalibrating Nigeria’s Whistleblowing Policy: An urgent plea for a comprehensive whistleblower protection legislation

Author: Olabisi D Akinkugbe
PhD candidate at the University of Ottawa, Canada

This short essay draws attention to the current gap in regulatory framework for the protection of whistleblowers in Nigeria and its potential to derail any meaningful sustained and long-term success of the country’s nascent whistleblower program. The other socio-political factors that would contribute to the effectiveness of the program in Nigeria are discussed in a forthcoming article by the author.

Whistleblowing refers to the public interest disclosure of information by members of an organization or government employees about illegal and immoral practices by other employees or other persons who deal with the organization, such as contractors, in the case of public governance. Employees are often the first to recognize malpractice, fraud, dishonest and illegal activity, or other wrongdoing with potential impact on the public interest. As a public governance integrity enhancing mechanism, it is primarily linked to encouraging and enhancing the public disclosure of wrongdoing in order to improve accountability and transparency.

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