Combatting economic crimes in Nigeria through whistleblowing: a shift from policy to legal framework

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is a holistic assessment of the impact of whistleblowing policy adopted by the Nigerian Government in fighting corruption and an evaluation of the whistleblowing and witness protection bill. Design/methodology/approach - This paper is a critical analysis of the whistleblowing policy and the draft whistleblowing and witness protection bill. The paper combines both qualitative and quantitative methods. It is conducted through the study of the policy and the draft bill and the critical examination of the data released by the federal Ministry of Finance. Moreover, the personal experience of the authors in the civil service and in formulating and implementing the whistleblower policy account significantly. Findings - The whistleblowing policy adopted by the Federal Republic of Nigeria is promising in controlling corruption and other economically motivated crimes. However, while efforts to give whistleblowing a legal backing will strengthen the fight against corruption in Nigeria, the National Assembly must subject the bill to rigorous debate to avoid having many lacunas in would be act. Research limitations/implications - The use of whistleblowing in combatting corruption in Nigeria is still at its infancy. A policy document backs implementation of the policy – there is no legislation or case law to consider. Thus, analysis is based on the policy document, the bill, statistics from the FMF and personal experience of the authors. Originality/value - There is no comprehensive study on the adoption of and efforts to give legal backing to, the whistleblowing policy adopted in Nigeria. This paper is of value to the Nigerian Government and the National Assembly considering the latest efforts to institutionalise whistleblowing in Nigeria.