The Role of Whistle Blowing Policy as an Anti-Corruption Tool in Nigeria

Abstract

The menace of corruption has bedeviled Nigeria over the years. Several statutory and policy attempts have been devised to arrest this ill, with hardly a positive result. The present administration tackles corruption in Nigeria through the whistle blowing policy. Although the policy was received with mixed feelings, it recorded tremendous success at the initial stage. However, the story subsequently changed. The decline may be attributed to the number of problems the policy created more than it sought to solve. One of the major challenges associated with this policy is lack of legislation facilitating it. Similarly, the policy is more interested in recovering funds than in punishing the actors behind the act thus vitiating the punitive objective of the criminal justice system which serves as deterrence. The whistle blower seems inadequately protected. This paper seeks to examine the law and practice of whistle blowing policy in Nigeria vis-a-vis what is obtainable in some jurisdictions. It submits that the current legal practice is inadequate to strengthen the policy in Nigeria. This work finds that unless some global standards and practices are adopted, the fight against corruption in Nigeria through the whistle blowing policy may be counterproductive.

Ethical decision-making in East Africa: predictors of whistleblowing intention

“…If we compare perceived retaliation and reported wrongdoing in East Africa and developed regions, we see that even though African countries have comprehensive legislation on whistleblowing, fear of retaliation is still a major obstacle (Liu and Apampa, 2020; Nwoke, 2019; Pillay et al , 2011; Uys, 2008), which shows that country or workplace culture can affect whistleblowing (Miceli and Near, 2013). In terms of legislative symbolism and the associated aspects required to facilitate a viable whistleblowing framework, Kenya has applicable whistleblowing policies and legislative bills at different stages of consideration (Anya and Iwanger, 2019). Uganda on its part has passed into law a somewhat umbrella legislation (Ntayi, 2012; Whistleblowers Protection Act, 2010).…”

Whistleblowing dan Korupsi Pada Sektor Publik: A Systematic Review

“…Penelitian tersebut menyimpulkan bahwa terdapat hubungan yang signifikan antara whistleblowing dengan kecurangan, pemalsuan dan korupsi. Penelitian yang dilakukan oleh (Anya & Iwanger, 2019;Okafor et al, 2020) menemukan bahwa kebijakan whistleblowing di Nigeria belum mencapai tujuan pemberantasan di negara tersebut, walaupun sebagian besar responden menganggap whistleblowing relevan untuk memberantas korupsi, namun kesadaran masyarakat akan program whistleblowing masih tergolong rendah. Lebih lanjut, penelitian terkait faktor-faktor yang memengaruhi niat melakukan whistleblowing dalam melaporkan kecurangan dan korupsi dilakukan oleh beberapa peneliti seperti (Tripermata et al, 2021), menyimpulkan bahwa variabel sikap berpengaruh positif terhadap pencegahan kecurangan dan intensi whistleblowing.…”

The Effect of Forensic Audit Services on Tax Fraud in South-South, Nigeria

“…Given that tax fraud is criminal and illegal, whistleblowing discloses an illegal, immoral or illegitimate crime. Whistle-blowing can be internal or external (Anya & Iwanger, 2019) to call attention (Adetula & Amupitan, 2018). It can be reported formally, informally, and anonymously (Onakoya & Moses, 2016) out of a genuine concern about the crime (Emeka-Nwokeji & Okeke, 2019) Whistle-blowing must have the existence of communication of hotlines, putting in place channels and ensuring that the process guarantees that every reported information is considered and be in place{Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE, 2018)}.…”

“…Whistleblowing has been found useful to anti-graft agencies (Adetula & Amupitan, 2018;Anya & Iwanger, 2019) and tax fraud cases (Widuri & Handiwikarsa, 2019). However, advised that whistle-blowers are protected against the fear of reprisals and negative publicity (Onakoya & Moses, 2016) with the right mechanisms for tax fraud (Suprana & Muhammad, 2020).…”