WWD 2026: AFRICMIL CALLS FOR URGENT PASSAGE OF WHISTLEBLOWER LAW TO CHECK RISING PUNISHMENT OF WHISTLEBLOWERS

As the world marks the world whistleblower day, African Centre for Media and Information Literacy (AFRICMIL) has reiterated its call on the Nigerian government to imitate Ghana, Liberia and Senegal in West Africa, and immediately pass the whistleblower bill into law as way of ensuring protection for citizens who report wrongdoing in the public interest.
In a press release signed by Godwin Onyeacholem, Programme Manager, AFRICMIL, the organization said enacting a whistleblower protection law was long overdue in the face of persistent vicious reprisals whistleblowers, especially workers in government offices, suffer for making disclosures in their offices. “It’s disappointing and embarrassing that since government introduced the whistleblowing policy as an anti-corruption mechanism almost 10 years ago, there is no legislation to strengthen the policy and ensure cover for citizens who face undesirable action for their whistleblowing activities,” Onyeacholem stated.
According to the statement, brave whistleblowers in public sector institutions had continued to suffer all kinds of punishment including suspension without pay, punitive postings, denial of promotion, outright dismissal, and worse, death threats for daring to report illegal conduct in their organisations. “Without a comprehensive legal protection,” the statement noted, “the persecution of whistleblowers would continue and whistleblowing as a viable anti-corruption and integrity mechanism would disappear from the country’s good governance codes.”
On this occasion of the world whistleblower day, AFRICMIL called on Chief George Akume, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, to withdraw without any further delay the memo from his office almost two years ago, warning workers they would be jailed if they exposed corruption in their offices. The organization noted that the memo is detrimental to transparent governance and violates Section 12 of the Whistleblowing Policy which protects whistleblowers facing retaliation, and Section 27 of the Freedom of Information Act which shields employees who leak unauthorized information to expose wrongdoing, gross mismanagement and fraud.
“In stead of plotting to send whistleblowers to jail for reporting fraud, Chief Akume should be taking steps to deepen transparency and accountability in government by directing all government institutions to set up internal whistleblowing systems not just as a public commitment to integrity and corporate responsibility, but also as a continuous improvement on compliasnce and risk management,” the statement said.
AFRICMIL paid tributes to courageous whistleblowers like Yisa Usman, Arc. Joseph Ameh and Mubarak Bello who are still battling the effects of the victimization inflicted on them by their organizations, saying, “We stand with these messengers of truth and accountability in their moment of tribulation, and we shall continue to fight and plead the cause for justice for all victimized whistleblowers in Nigeria.”
The World Whistleblower Day is an annual event held June 23 to celebrate whistleblowers for their bravery and remind governments of the importance of whistleblowing as a key instrument for checking corruption, abuse of power and achieving transparency and good governance.