Anti-corruption campaigner HEDA and other civil society organisations have pushed for legislation to protect whistleblowers in Nigeria, saying the lack of such laws costs the country hundreds of millions of naira in illicit proceeds that go unreported because informants lack guaranteed protection.

At a workshop organised by HEDA in partnership with Platform to Protect Whistleblowers in Africa (PPLAAF) on Wednesday, stakeholders warned the country might continue to lose in its fight against corruption if it fails to pursue legislation that will shield whistleblowers from reprisal.

Citing multiple instances where whistleblowers lost their jobs and were blocked from re-employment, Godwin Onyeacholem, programme manager at the African Centre for Media & Information Literacy (AFRICMIL), said citizens are no longer motivated to come forward to report wrongdoing, given it can backfire with consequences extending to their family members.

He noted that the country was dangerously lagging behind African counterparts like Ghana and Senegal, which have laws that protect informants and their families from potential reprisals.

Stakeholders said it was nearly impossible to trace stolen assets if insiders, familiar with the stealing strategy and, in most cases, tasked with hiding them, do not come forward.

HEDA’s chair, Olanrewaju Suraju, represented by secretary Arigbabu Sulaimon, said public office holders had devised more sophisticated means to steal government funds, often without leaving footprints, stating, “Over the past two decades, the nature of financial crime has undergone a radical revolution.”

He noted that stolen funds were now being stored in offshore accounts and used for real estate acquisitions in countries like the U.S., the UK, and even prominent tourist cities like Dubai.

Abdullahi Shehu, a former director-general of the Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA), made 12 recommendations to end corruption and improve asset recovery for the government.

Returning recovered loot to a system that enables corruption, according to Mr Shehu, only prolonged the anti-graft war. He said that as long as corrupt people govern Nigeria, the fight against graft will persist.

“A nation cannot defeat corruption if corruption decides who leads it,” Mr Shehu pointed out.

EFCC and ICPC highlighted obstacles in asset recovery, saying some international banks do not cooperate with investigations and sometimes delay responses for months, which in turn stalls investigations and prosecutions.

The National Assembly passed the Whistleblower Bill in 2022, but CSOs advocate for a corresponding whistleblower protection law to shield informants.