Legislative and Policy Frameworks Protecting Whistle-Blowers in the Nigerian Public Service

Abstract

This study analyses the extant legislative and policy frameworks protecting whistleblowers in the Nigerian public service in the absence of a comprehensive whistleblower protection law. There have been claims that government workers are complicit in the corruption of political office holders and  their senior colleagues in the public service. The truth is that these same officers are crucial to curbing corruption in the public service. They hold sensitive and sometimes pensionable appointments, which make their roles inevitable if corruption is to be curtailed. However, for them to play these important roles, strong legislation and policies must be put in place to protect them. At the international level, in 2013, the ILO Committee of Experts stated the need for an effective, efficient public service with a strong ethical culture and transparency. By 2014, the ILO at a Global Dialogue Forum on Challenges to Collective Bargaining in the Public Service emphasised the potential of legislation, social dialogue and collective bargaining in ensuring  independence and protection for public officers. By 2015, the world adopted the Sustainable Development Goals with target 166 requiring member states to develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels. In 2019, the ILO adopted the Violence and Harassment Convention (No. 190), which specifically mandates member states to take measures to protect whistleblowers as a way to fight corruption. Nigeria ratified Convention No. 190 in November 2022. The study recommends actionable points including enactment of stand-alone Whistleblower Protection Act, confidentiality guarantees with penalties in case of breaches and provision of remedies, among others.