In 2016, the President Buhari’s administration introduced the Whistle Blowing Policy, to allow the country retrieve monies stolen by power hungry politicians, civil servants & other government positions.
When the policy started it looked like prospective whistle blowers may have hit the jackpot because a few of the early whistle blowers were able to get their commissions in no time but it looks like things are not going well for some of these whistle blowers like everything else in Nigeria.
For example, a certain whistle blower has filed a suit against the FG
before a FCT High Court vide a writ of summons dated June 7, 2019 by his lawyer, Aliyu Alemu, of Aliyu Alemu and Co, the whistleblower prayed the court to compel the Federal Government to fulfil its promise.
The plaintiff asked the court to order that he was entitled to be paid by the Federal Government and AGF the sum of N1, 914, 794, 676 being the whistleblower reward accruing to him.
He also asked the court to direct the defendants to pay him the money immediately and order that a post-judgment interest in respect of the commission at the rate of 10 per cent per annum until the final liquidation of the N1.9bn. The whistleblower also asked the court to order that the sum of N10m be paid by the Federal Government as legal fees for filing the court process.
In June 2018, he informed the AGF of the existence of a bank account with $223m bearing the name ‘NNPC Brass LNG INV. Fund’ with number 1750027157 domiciled in Skye Bank (now Polaris Bank). The money was kept in the bank in violation of the Treasury Single Account policy of the Muhammadu Buhari government.
The Group Managing Director of the NNPC, 14 persons (all NNPC officials) were listed as signatories to the account. Some of the names of signatories are the NNPC GMD, Maikanti Baru, with BVN 22169280709; NNPC Group General Manager, Babatunde Victor Adeniran, with BVN 22144631650; Head of Marketing, Mele Kolo Kyari, with BVN 22206528997; and Group General Manager, Research and Development, Surajudeen Bolanle Afolabi, with BVN 22215178271.
The whistleblower said in his affidavit that despite putting his life and the safety of his family at risk to expose corruption, the Federal Government failed to honour its pledge. He said the letters he wrote to the President, AGF and other relevant authorities didn’t receive a favourable response, hence he decided to take the matter to court.
Giving the current situation of this whistle blower, do you think this policy will last the end of the year 2019 and will there ever be people will to whistle blow again?
Culled for PunchNG
