BY NGOZI ONYEAKUSI 

In a bid to sustain advocacy for a whistleblower protection law in Nigeria, the African Centre for Media and Information Literacy (AFRICMIL) says all is set to convene Nigeria’s first National Interactive Forum for Judges on Whistleblowing and Whistleblower Protection in the nation’s capital, Abuja, this Thursday.
A statement signed by AFRICMIL’s Coordinator, Dr Chido Onumah described the event as a landmark endeavour aimed at deepening judicial understanding of the critical role of the courts in protecting whistleblowers and interpreting emerging norms in the legal environment of whistleblowing.
Onumah revealed that the theme of the forum is: The Judiciary and Whistleblower Protection in Nigeria: Challenges and Responsibilities, adding that AFRICMIL is partnering a host of government and non-government organizations, including: The Progressive Impact Organization for Community Development (PRIMORG), Tap Initiative, National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), and Centre for Fiscal Transparency and Public Integrity (CeFTPI).
He further disclosed that the workshop will feature select judges of the Federal High Courts across the six zones of the country. Also expected are heads of anti-corruption agencies, police, members of civil society organizations and the media. The keynote speech will be delivered by the Executive Secretary of the National Human Rights Commission, Anthony Ojukwu (SAN), and a five-member panel will reflect on the address and share perspectives on the forum’s theme.
Onumah decried that Nigeria’s inability to give whistleblowing legal impetus nine years after the introduction of a whistleblower policy through the Presidential Initiative on Continuous Audit (PICA) has now weakened public confidence in reporting wrongdoings.
While insisting that the first step towards an effective anti-corruption war remains the enactment of a whistleblower law, Onumah stressed that a well-informed judiciary is key to the success of any whistleblower legislation, hence the need for the auspicious event on September 18, 2025.
“The forum will focus on issues such as balancing transparency with national security, ensuring the anonymity of whistleblowers, and adjudicating cases of retaliation. It will also provide a platform for sharing best practices and developing a harmonized approach to whistleblower litigation.
“Nine years after Nigeria introduced a whistleblower policy through the Presidential Initiative on Continuous Audit (PICA), the absence of a law has weakened public confidence. While the policy led to significant recoveries of stolen funds in its early years, the lack of legal protection has discouraged citizens from reporting wrongdoing.
“A well-informed judiciary is essential for the success of any whistleblower legislation. The enactment of a law is only the first step. The courts will ultimately determine its effectiveness.
“We are therefore proactively engaging the guardians of our constitution to build consensus on the importance of protecting citizens who expose corruption,” the statement added.
AFRICMIL called on the government to treat this initiative as a complementary effort in the fight against corruption and to accelerate the process of transmitting a draft whistleblower protection bill to the National Assembly.
The Platform supports the event to Protect Whistleblowers in Africa (PPLAAF), MacArthur Foundation, Whistleblowing International Network (WIN), Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and the Chartered Institute of Forensics and Certified Fraud Investigators of Nigeria (CIFCFIN).