The Coordinator of the centre, Chido Onumah disclosed this on Wednesday in Abuja during the public presentation of the report of a survey on five years of the whistle-blowing policy in Nigeria.
The African Centre for Media and Information Literacy (AFRICMIL) has charged the National Assembly to review the whistle-blowing policy and take appropriate measures to pass the whistle-blowing protection bill into law before the end of the current administration.
The Coordinator of the centre, Chido Onumah disclosed this on Wednesday in Abuja during the public presentation of the report of a survey on five years of the whistle-blowing policy in Nigeria.
The centre also called on the Nigerian government to provide an appropriate mechanism to institutionalise the whistle+blowing policy in the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to enhance proper implementation.
The report also examined the impact of the policy in combating corruption in Nigeria, specifically on how to build a level of consciousness and awareness among Nigerians for accountability and transparency.
The report read in part, "From the assessment, the impact of the whistle-blowing policy in curbing corruption has been minimal due to several challenges. These challenges include conflicting compensation mechanisms, lack of legal protection for whistle-blowers, prolonged period of investigation, data/miscarriage of justice, lack of public data on the progress made so far and limited knowledge by states actors specific provisions in the policy.
"The findings revealed that an overwhelming majority (98.2%) of Nigerians perceived corruption as a serious problem and menace in the country. Although the majority of Nigerians are aware of the whistle-blowing policy.
"One-quarter of the respondents are unwilling to report any form of corrupt practices while 3 out of every 4 respondents have stopped reporting cases of looted funds due to nepotism, fear of victimisation/stigmatisation, lack of knowledge on the kind of information to report and the appropriate channels to report to, and the feeling that no serious action will be taken by the authorities in charge even if a report is made.
"Findings revealed that legislative protection and monetary reward for whistle-blowers were considered as key motivators for potential whistle-blowers. Sadly only 1 out of every 4 Nigerians is somewhat satisfied with the available channel for reporting corrupt practices. Television and radio jingles were considered as effective means of enlightening the public about the policy."
The report also identified a lack of political will, limited funding and poor reporting and widespread retaliation against whistle-blowers as barriers militating against the whistle-blowing
policy.
While making recommendations to tackle the challenges, the centre called on the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) to mandate courts across the 36 states of the federation to prioritise prompt response to whistle-blowing cases.
"The Presidential Initiative on Continuous Audit (PICA) should collaborate with relevant stakeholders to have a comprehensive database of tips received, tips investigated, evidence of recoveries and compensation for whistle-blowers.
"All 36 states governors and 774 local government areas' chairmen should embrace whistle-blowing and adopt a multi-sectoral approach to institutionalise the policy and improve the mechanism for reporting corruption and other corrupt practices in their respective states and local government areas," the report added.